Queen of Hearts
by ShadowKissedDhampir
Summary: Vampire Academy AU: Rose Hathaway has always gotten what she wanted, whenever she wanted it, especially when it came to the male gender, despite her harrowing past. That is until a certain gentleman by the name of Dimitri Belikov entered her life. The challenge he presents is too great to give up, but when her past comes to light, she may have no other choice.
1. Chapter 1

****DISCLAIMER: ALL BELONGS TO RICHELLE MEAD EXCEPT PLOT AND ANY OC'S****

I leaned against the doorframe, my eyes settling on the sleeping figure in the bed. The covers were just barely covering his lower half, leaving his chest very visible. His blond hair was out of control, the light from the window making the brown in it stand out. My gaze travelled to his lips where a satisfied smirk held my attention. Giving him one last look, and basking once more in yet another conquest, I slipped down the hall and out the front door. I shut it softly behind me and hailed a cab. I gave the cabbie my address and leaned back, thinking about the night before. The way his body felt under my hands, the way his hands felt moving over my body, the way he moaned my name over and over, the way he-

"We're here, ma'am," the cabbie broke into my thoughts. I threw a couple twenties on the front seat and climbed out. I walked up the front stairs and opened the door as silently as I could.

"Rosemarie Hathaway!" My best friend scolded as I walked in. "Where were you?"

I looked up and grimaced. "Liss, please. I have a headache."

"Too damn bad. Why didn't you call or text?" She demanded. "You know I worry when you don't call or text me."

"I was _busy_," I said, emphasizing _busy_. Her eyes widened.

"Again, Rose? Really?" Lissa's green eyes oozed with disappointment.

"Lissa, I don't want to hear it again," I tell her. "I know; you think it's unorthodox, yadda, yadda, yadda. Not everybody has a boyfriend who loves them like yours does." I mumble the last part under my breath.

Lissa's eyes narrow. "Maybe if you stopped sleeping around, you could have boyfriend, too!"

I roll my eyes at my best friend and make my way back to my room. It's just the way I left it: clothes strewn about and schoolwork –unfinished– littered the desk.

"Rose," Lissa follows me. "You do realize that we have school today, right?'

"Mhmm," I nod, dancing to a silent beat.

"Are you really going to school hung-over?" she questioned, half surprised, half not surprised.

"Yes, I'll be fine with some aspirin and a hot shower," I said, dancing past her and into the bathroom. "Give me thirty minutes."

I showered semi-quickly as my disoriented senses kept sending the world spinning. I stepped out of the shower, steam surrounding me. When I stumbled out, and into my room, I found a water bottle and a couple of aspirins sitting on my dresser. _Thank you, Lissa._

Opening my closet, I searched for the perfect back-to-school outfit. I pulled out a long sleeve blue romper along with a pair of lace up black wedges. I yanked my brush through my dark brown, almost black hair, trying to get every tangle out. I give up halfway, my arms starting to hurt and just put it up into a bun. Glancing in the mirror, I saw that the makeup from last night was still there for the most part. Wiping away the excess that had gathered under my eyes, I walked into the kitchen where Lissa was sitting with Christian, her boyfriend, and Sydney Sage, our other best friend.

"Are wedges really such a great idea?" Lissa questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm hung-over, not drunk," I replied. "I want doughnuts."

Rolling her eyes, Lissa jiggled her keys and walked out the door. Grinning, I followed her to the second love her life: her black Maserati convertible.

After stopping at Dunkin Donuts and getting doughnuts and ice fruit drinks, we pulled into our school. It felt like the huge sign reading Vladimir High School was mocking me.

"Let's make senior year our bitch!" Sydney announced as she climbed out of the car. Her white knee-length skirt and conservative sweater screamed 'Goody Two-Shoes' but Lissa and I knew otherwise. We also knew that I was definitely rubbing off on her.

"Ooh, perfect Sydney Sage cussed," I laughed and she mock glared at me. "Are you ready to de-nun your closet and buy some real clothes?" I teased and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Sure, Rose," she tells me as we make our way towards the front doors. "I'll buy a new wardrobe, as soon as you wear something out of my closet. Something that _I _pick."

I wrinkle my nose. "Like hell." I could feel the eyes of the guys on us as we walked through the halls. "I will never, swear on Lissa's life, wear nun clothes."

"Why my life?" Lissa broke away long enough from Christian to interrupt.

Christian guffawed and wrapped his arm around Lissa tighter. "I think Rose would rather die herself than wear something appropriate."

"Damn right." I nodded. Sydney and I shared a smile.

"Sydney Sage!" An arm appears on her shoulder and she smiles up at her boyfriend, Adrian Ivashkov. He was good looking, with chestnut brown hair and emerald green eyes, but he definitely was not my type. Adrian was a senior with us, and I made a rule against sleeping with anybody who could be a potential classmate. That would just be awkward.

"Rosie, I picked your schedule up for you," Adrian turns his head to look at me and hands me the piece of paper. We stop at my locker, and Christian and Lissa immediately lean up against it, whispering to each other. "So who did you sleep with last night?"

I grinned lazily at Adrian. "What makes you think I slept with anyone?"

"Because I know you, Rosie, for my entire life. I can tell," Adrian smirked. Damn. We had known each other since we were born and he knew everything about me. He was the male Lissa, in a way, when it came to my secrets and trust.

I shrugged. "His name started with an -I, I think. Ian, Isaac, Ira," I shrug again. "Ooh, it was Ivan. That was his name."

Adrian shakes his head at me, his disappointment obvious fake. "What's your first class?"

"AP European History with Matev?" I said, looking down at the room number.

"Question mark?" Adrian laughs.

"Do you not know how to read your schedule, Rosemarie?" Christian joins in, pulling away from Lissa for five seconds.

"I wasn't sure how to say his name, assholes," I snapped, passing the paper to Lissa. She glanced over the name.

"Matev," Lissa repeats, pronouncing it for me. I thank her and take my paper back.

"We are together for first period then," Adrian smiled and held his hand up for a high-five.

"And last period," I say, taking Adrian's schedule. "HOPE with Belikov."

"Belikov," Lissa corrected me. "There is not –e at the end so it's not -cove."

I part from Lissa and Christian, while Adrian and Sydney follow me. I'm glad that I have close friends in my first class, instead of being alone.

I spent AP Euro daydreaming about last night. If I slept with the same person more than once, I would definitely be giving Ivan a call. He made sure to program his number into my phone last night before falling asleep. My thoughts soon drifted to my many casual affairs. No guys has ever said no to me. Everybody already knows that Rose Hathaway was damn good at flirting and even better in bed. She was, in a way, a queen. And her prize? The hearts of those she seduced. Not once had I slept with someone who never asked for a date afterwards.

I was jolted from my thoughts as the bell rang. I realized then that I had absolutely no idea what Matev had just talked about for the past ninety minutes. Oops.

In physics, I ended up falling asleep, only to be jolted awake by the bell. This year was not off to a good start, like always. I don't even know how the fuck I got put in that class. I am not smart when it comes to math, at all. I was only in algebra two, which I actually paid attention in, mainly because most of the kids in the class were sophomores and juniors. I was the only senior in third period algebra two.

"Miss Hathaway," Mr. Carmody says as I walked in the class. "Didn't you take this last year?"

"I failed, remember?" I told him. Instead of taking algebra two in my sophomore year, like I was supposed to, I took financial algebra instead, hoping it would be easier. I nearly failed out of that class as well.

Carmody shakes his head at me and I take my seat, praying that the period goes by quickly. It sadly doesn't and Carmody assigns three pages for homework.

When the bell rings, I jump up. I'm the first one out the door. Lunch was my favorite part of the day, of course, because I got to eat. Which I loved.

"Ready for HOPE, Rosie?" Adrian teased. "I've heard that Belikov is a hard-ass."

"I wish you luck," Sydney and Lissa chorus. They, of course, already filled their requirements for this lame-ass class.

"We have woodshop with McCall," Sydney wrinkled her nose dainty and Adrian kiss the tip gently.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she whispered back, and I turned away, not wanting to intrude on their private moment.

The warning bell rang and Adrian and I shared a look before dashing for the room. The final bell rang just as we slipped into the room, taking the only available seats. In the front of the classroom.

_Great._ Adrian and I shared another look before sitting down.

I scanned the classroom, looking for Belikov, whoever the hell that was. The door to the teacher's office and a man walked in, wearing a crisp white button down shirt and a pair of black slacks. He had brown hair, pulled back at the nape of his neck and his brown eyes, shades lighter than mine, missed nothing. His eyes connected with me and my mouth went dry.

"My name is Mr. Belikov and I will be your teacher for HOPE this year," the man said, writing on the board.

"Any questions?" he asked, turning around to face us.

"How old are you?" A girl called from the back.

"24," he said, scanning the class with boredom.

"You married?" A guy two seats over asked, jealousy evident in his voice.

My breath caught in my throat. _Please, please don't tell me that he-_

"No, I'm not," he answered and I sighed in relief.

"Would you ever consider dating a student?" Another girl asked.

"Never."

We will just have to see about that. Screw that he was my teacher. I vowed then and there that I would have him. After all, nobody ever said no to Rosemarie Hathaway, I was the queen of hearts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to Ginevra Annabeth Herondale, ForeverNicole, L.M.T.O.P, ilovesos9467, David Fishwick, dream-big-101, PopCultureAddict, Romitri99, grandprincessanastasiaromanov5, and Reviewer for reviewing the first chapter. I had an amazing turn out for this story so far, thank you all so much. **

**To dream-big-101 (and anyone else who doesn't know what HOPE is): HOPE class is kind of like an alternative P.E. class. It stands for Health Opportunities through Physical Education. It's a mix of P.E. and health, basically. Some days the students are outside doing some physical activities and other days they are inside learning about how to be healthy and body systems, etc. I'm not sure if it is just an American thing or not. **

**To PopCultureAddict: Yes, my high school is in Florida, though I took the class my freshman year at my high school, versus taking it through Florida Virtual. I was one of the lucky ones who got it on my schedule my first year. **

**Enjoy the new chapter, even though it is a little short. **

–**SKD **

As Mr. Belikov sits down at his desk, I prop my head up with my arms and sigh. He didn't seem to notice that every girl in the class was staring at him in awe.

Without looking up, he starts calling roll. "Adkins, Michelle."

"Here." The girl sits up straighter, pulling her top down a little, and showing off unimpressive cleavage. Her face fell when he just continued reading the roll, without looking up once. I sigh again as I wait for the list to get anywhere close to my name.

"Finley, Cole." He continues on as Cole shouts 'here' from the back of the class. "There is no need to shout, Mr. Finley."

I hear him and his friends laughing in the back and roll my eyes at their immaturity. That was another reason I refused to sleep with anyone who was in my grade. Almost every male in this school lacked a morsel of maturity.

"Frank, Katrina." Mr. Belikov glances up when nobody says 'here' and he repeats the name before marking Katrina as absent.

"Hathaway, Rosemarie," Mr. Belikov glances up again, narrowing his eyes at Cole and his friends.

"Here," I answer, raising my hand. Mr. Belikov looks at me, his brown eyes seemingly staring into my soul. I meet his gaze for what seems like forever until he breaks it, looking back down at his papers.

"Ivashkov, Adrian," he calls out next and Adrian answers from beside me before staring at me incredulously.

"Someone has a crush on the new teacher," he singsongs under his breath.

I glare back at him. "Shut up, Ivashkov," I hiss. "I do not have a crush on my HOPE teacher."

I roll my eyes, feigning nonchalance, but I know by the look Adrian gives me that he isn't buying it.

"Peters, Tess," Mr. Belikov continues down his roll and I tap my fingers impatiently on the desk, watching the clock. This was the shortest period of the day, only sixty minutes instead of the normal ninety. Already the clock had ticked down twenty-five minutes, leaving little time left in class.

"Pitman, Haley," he says, and I find myself wishing this class had a lot less people in them. I start to zone out again as more and more people say here, until finally, he reached the end of the roll. Thank God.

Belikov stands and walks around his desk, perching on the front on it. Adrian turns to me, waggling his eyebrows at Belikov's proximity to us. I just give him another look before facing forwards, my gaze focusing on Belikov. I'm surprised to find his gaze on me when I turn back and feel my face flush a little bit. Belikov smirks, barely, but I see it.

I do not get flustered by the male species. Not even tall, Russian gods.

I feel my face flame up again and I take a deep breath.

"Due to the way your schedules are set up, only having this class every other day, on Monday and Tuesdays, we will be inside, doing a health lesson. Thursday and Fridays, you all will be dressing out and playing a sport out on the fields. Wednesday, it will be a mixture of a health lesson, along with light physical activities. Wednesday through Friday, you must be wearing tennis shoes," Belikov eyes my shoes. "I do not want to see a single stiletto or wedge on any of you, is that clear?"

Adrian's hand shoots up into the air, grinning mischievously.

"Yes, Mr. Ivashkov?" Belikov arches a brow.

Adrian falters for a moment, surprised that he knew his name, despite not looking at him while calling roll. "Am I allowed to-?"

"Smartasses do not belong in my class. If you are about to ask a smartass question, the door is right there. Feel free to leave," Belikov cut him off. I grinned and a couple girls giggled. Adrian smirked but stayed silent.

"Instead of being seated alphabetically, you will seat with your respective grade," Belikov orders and assigns certain parts of the classrooms to grades. There are eight columns of seats, with five seats in each. The first two go to freshmen, the next two to sophomores, and so on. He quickly realizes that there are only four seniors in the class, but fifteen freshmen. Rearranging, he assigns us to the last row -directly in front of his desk- and then scoots both the juniors and sophomores down a row so the freshmeat have an extra row.

Belikov glances at the clock –five minutes left– and shakes his head. "Next class, you will be purchasing locks and choosing lockers for the year in the locker rooms. You have to purchase a lock, you aren't allowed to bring your own. Locks are five dollars."

I raise my hand.

"Miss Hathaway, what can I do for you?" Belikov asks, crouching in front of my desk as everybody else talks amongst themselves. Besides us, I hear Adrian mutter, "There is a lot I'm sure you do for her and to her."

Belikov stiffens at Adrian's words and I want to punch him. "What sports will we be doing?"

"Flag football, basketball, soccer, tennis," Belikov says. "Mainly it will be a free for all on the fields, but there will be a track unit. Everybody has to pass certain tests in order to pass the class and graduate."

I make a face and Belikov smiles. Before he can say anything else, the bell rings. "Mr. Ivashkov, please stay after. You have detention for that ridiculous comment that you thought was appropriate."

I make a face at Adrian and laugh when he rolls his eyes.

"I'll tell Sydney that you already have detention," I tease. "And here I was thinking I would be the first to get detention this year."

Adrian sticks his tongue out at me and flops back down in his chair. Sydney is waiting at the doorway for us and her eyebrows shoot up when only I exit.

"Detention already?" I grin as she rolls her eyes. "Of course he does. What did he do this time?"

"He was being Adrian," I answer her. "He made an inappropriate comment to the teacher."

"Is Belikov a hard ass like Adrian claimed?" Sydney bites her lip with worry.

"He deserved it. Adrian was being an ass," I assure her and she gives me a dubious look.

"An ass by your definition or mine?"

"Everything is by Rosie's definition," Adrian comes up behind up, draping his arms over our shoulders.

"I thought you had-"

"Belikov let me off with a warning because it's the first day of school," Adrian says smugly.

"Make another comment like you did and I'll make sure you stay in there," I mutter.

"Adrian, what did you say?" Sydney asked, wiggling out from underneath his arm.

"Something that needed to be said," Adrian defends himself. I snort. _Yeah, right._

"Adrian seems to think I have a crush on Belikov. Which I don't!" I fill in the blank spaces.

"Yes, you do. Just admit it, Rosie. You think the teacher is hot and you want him to want you like you want him," Adrian challenged. I stood my ground, hands on hips glaring at him.

"No, I do not. You're delusional!" I accuse. Adrian laughs and raises his hands in mock surrender.

"Whatever you say, Rosie, whatever you say," Adrian grins cockily.

"Your boyfriend is an idiot," I tell Sydney, ignoring Adrian.

"Actually, Rose, I think Adrian may be right," she says, sheepishly. "You've never been so defiant about a guy before."

"That doesn't mean anything," I cross my arms and pout. I feel like stomping my foot to get my way, no matter how petulant it is.

Sydney shrugs. "That's just my opinion."

_Well, you're opinion is wrong_, I want to shout. But I don't. Who gives a fuck if they think I have a crush on Belikov. Though, if we happened to end up in the same bed together, with little to no clothes, I sure as hell wouldn't be putting a stop to it. I grin at the direction of my thoughts and Adrian gives me a knowing look.

Lissa and Christian are leaning against our lockers, waiting. Lissa tosses me the keys to her car and my jaw drops.

"You're letting me drive the Mazzi?" In the year and a half that she has had the Maserati, I had only driven it one time.

Lissa grimaces. "Don't make me regret it."

I pocket the keys before she changes her mind and grin. "Thanks, Liss. I promise not to completely total it."

Lissa groans and buries her face in the crook of Christian's neck. "Tell me I'm not going to regret giving her the keys."

Christian chuckles and wraps his arms around her tiny fame. "Sorry, babe, I can't tell you that."

"Not one scratch, Rose," Lissa warns. "I will have your head if you scratch my baby."

I roll my eyes, but nod, and promise to be uber careful. Christian and Lissa walk towards the locker rooms to change into their practice gear. Christian and Adrian both played for our football team and Lissa was a cheerleader, along with Sydney.

"You should try-out, Rose," Sydney told me, putting her books in her locker.

"Hell, no," I answered. "Cheering is not my thing."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "It is so your thing. You cheered in middle school and the first three years of high school. You could have been captain this year."

I grimace. "Thanks for the offer, Syd, but I'm good. I'm over cheerleading."

Sydney gave me a look that said she wasn't buying it, but didn't press the issue. She wrapped me in a quick hug before her and Adrian followed Christian and Lissa to change. I made sure that I had my math book before making my way out to Lissa's car.

I climbed into the car and fastened my seatbelt, before locking my phone in the glove box. I went through all my checks before I started the car, including moving my seat forward to better suit my shorter frame and moving the mirrors. I put the car into reverse and turned in my seat checking for any traffic. The parking lot was nearly empty, save for a few cars for the various fall sports.

I managed to get home without totaling Lissa's car, grinning to myself. I was a lot more careful than she thought when I drove. Accidents scared me to death. I had been in one when I was younger and both of my parents had died. The other driver had been texting and ran the red light, slamming into us. My mom died on impact and my father died later at the hospital. Lissa's family took me in and raised me as their own, for which I was extremely grateful.

Instead of starting on my homework, like I should have, I changed into a pair of black Victoria's Secret shorts that had PINK written across the ass and a pink sports bra. I laced up my shoes and secured my hair with yet another ponytail. Hanging a note for Lissa on the refrigerator door, I stepped outside and locked the door behind me. The gym wasn't too far from our apartment and I opted to jog there instead of taking my '97 Camry.

Normally, the jog helped me clear everything from my head and focus on staying in shape and de-stressing me. Today, however, I couldn't stop thinking about cheerleading. As much as I tell Sydney and Lissa that it didn't matter to me anymore, it did. And I did miss it, but I couldn't risk cheering again. Not after what happened last year.

I pushed myself faster, not wanting to think about the accident, and by the time that I reached the gym, I was out of breath. Scanning my card, I pushed through the glass doors and fill up a plastic bottle with water sipping it before heading over to the stair climber machine.

My workout passes quickly, though by the time I'm done, its dark outside and there is next to nobody in the gym. I slow the treadmill down to a jog and then a walk before stopping the machine all together. As I drink the last of my water, I see a man approach me out of the corner of my eye.

"Do you come here often? Because I've never seen you here before," he says with a wink and I roll my eyes. It doesn't take long to place his face and flashes from the night before go through my head. His smile widens as he see recognition in my eyes.

"I was going to call you, but this works so much better," Ivan flashes another grin my way. "So, what do you say? Dinner tomorrow night, seven pm, my house?"

I nearly laugh, but manage to refrain. "I'm more of a one-night-stand girl," I say, shrugging. I walk past him and refill my water.

He follows me and grabs my arm. A frisson of fear runs through me, and I push it away as I pull away. "Come on, Rose," he says. "One date."

"No, thank you," I tell him, walking towards the front door. He grabs my arm again and I turn, hissing, "Let go of me, or I will scream."

His eyes widen as he lets go and I take a deep breath. "Thank you."

I don't wait for a reply and continue walking towards the front door. As I get close, the door swings open.

"Ivan, if you don't get your ass out here, I'm leaving without you!" I nearly drop my water when I see Mr. Belikov walk in, hair loose and shirtless.

"Calm down, Dimka, I was talking with a friend," Ivan says, walking past me. He turns and winks. "Text me your address, Rose. I don't take 'no' for an answer."

My eyes narrow at Ivan's retreating form and a throat is cleared above me. I look up into those brown eyes to find them glaring down at me, his mouth set in a tight line. His arms are crossed across his chest, his biceps bulging. I can tell instantly that he's angry. Very angry.


	3. Chapter 3

*****A huge thank you to Romitri99, Ginevra Annabeth Herondale, dream-big-101, Maximum Rose Ride, Rose Thorn Catli, shayisaslytherin, Guest, Do'B, Guest, L.M.T.O.P., ilovesos9467, and Guest for reviewing chapter two. This story has gotten an amazing response so far. Thank you all so much! –skd*****

* * *

"Mr. Belikov," I acknowledge respectfully, walking around him.

"Rosemarie," he calls, following after me. "Just what do you think you are doing?"

I turn, giving him an innocent look. He gives me a look that plainly says he isn't buying it. "I'm just going home, Mr. Belikov."

"That's not what I mean and you know it," Mr. Belikov snaps, continuing to follow me.

"I don't follow," I say sweetly. My phone chimes in my pocket and I ignore it. Mr. Belikov steps closer to me and unconsciously, I take a step back.

"Are you scared of me?" he asks me, eyes wide, taking another step. This time, I take two steps back.

"Personal space," I say vaguely, gesturing with my hand.

"Personal space?" he scoffs. "Like personal space matters to you."

"Personal space matters a great deal to me," I snap, anger boiling in me. "You don't know me therefore you have no clue what matters to me."

"Rosemarie," he starts, uncrossing his arms.

"Do not call me that," I seethe. "My name is Rose."

"What were you doing with Ivan?" Belikov asks, and I'm surprised the see the flash of jealousy in his eyes. I smirk and shrug.

"I don't believe that that information is any of your damn business," I tell him, I walk around him and back in the direction of my apartment. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places I need to be."

"Like fucking yet another boy?" Mr. Belikov calls after me and I freeze.

I whip around and fix him with an icy glare. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he says back, walking slowly towards me.

"You don't know shit about me," I hiss. "Whatever it is that you think you know about me is wrong."

"I know about your incident last year," he says smugly.

I blanch. "You can't possibly know about that," I stutter. "No, no way in hell should you know about that."

"Oh, but I do," he tells me. "It's obvious that you haven't talked about it. You really should though."

"I'm not doing this. You don't know what the hell you're talking about," I say, my voice wavering. I throw a façade up but I know he can see through it. "I need to go," I mutter, turning and jogging away.

"Rose!"

I ignore his call and just continue running.

I arrive back sooner than I thought I would. I race up the stairs and unconsciously reach for the knob. It twists easily under my hand.

"Lissa!" I shout walking in. "I'm back!"

I make my way to the kitchen, and grab a water bottle from the fridge. My note to Lissa still hangs on the fridge door and I freeze. Normally, she takes the notes down or will scribble something back. A creak sounds from upstairs and I just then note how messy the living room is. Lissa is in no way a slob and it was clean when I left. I reach blindly for the bat that we store in the pantry and slowly make my way upstairs.

"Lissa?" I repeat and I hear another sound coming from her room. I approach the door silently, holding the bat at the ready. I let go of the bat to open the door before using my foot to open the door further. And immediately scream and run from the room.

"Lissa Dragomir! Fucking hell! Hang a damn sock on the fucking door next time!" I shout from the safety of the kitchen.

I hear Christian's low chuckle and squeeze my eyes shut to try to rid those images from my brain. Another noise comes from upstairs and I plug my headphones in while I clean up the mess they made in the living room.

Sometime later, Lissa and Christian come downstairs, her in a bathrobe and him shirtless. I glare at the pair of them.

"What the literal fuck?" I demand. "Do you not know that it is proper etiquette to hang a fucking sock on the door knob when you're fucking?"

Christian whistles. "Damn, Rose, someone's sweary tonight."

"You would be too, if you just walked in on your best friend fucking her boyfriend," I snapped. I left the room, storming up the stairs. I heard the front door close and a knock sounded on my door seconds later.

"Rose?" Lissa called. The door opens a crack and she pokes her head in. "Can I come in?"

I rolled over and heard her pad into the room softly. My bed barely dips under her meager weight and she wraps her arms around me. "Don't be mad."

"I thought that someone had broken in again," I whispered. "I thought you were hurt. Where the fuck is Christian's car?"

"Two streets down, in visitor's parking. There were no closer open spots," Lissa explained. "And you really should lock the door when you leave."

"Lock the door?" I repeated. "I did lock the door, Liss. Or at least I thought I did."

"Double check next time? It was unlocked when I got home," Lissa says. I turned and faced her.

"So, how was your first time?" I questioned her with arched eyebrows.

She blushed and grinned.

"Never mind," I say gagging a little. "I don't think I want to know."

Lissa laughs and stands up. "Good night, Rose," she says, before whispering, "It was amazing."

She flipped my light off and I curled up into a ball on my bed. Mr. Belikov's words started running through my head and they refused to leave.

_I know about your incident last year. I know about your incident last year. I know about your incident last year. I know about your incident last year._ _I know about your incident last year._ _I know about your incident last year._ _I know about your incident last year._ _I know about your incident last year._ _I know about your incident last year._ _I know about your incident last year._ _I know about your incident last year._

Groaning, I stood up and tried to find my laptop. Using my phone flashlight, I searched for my laptop but couldn't find it. I flung the door open and noted that Lissa's light was still on. I knocked, despite knowing that Christian wasn't here, before entering. She was on the phone.

"Lissa, did you move my laptop? I left it on the desk this morning and now it's not there," I ask her. She covers the receiver with her hand.

"I thought I saw it downstairs early. Did you check by the table?" she questions. I shake my head and closed her door. I trek back downstairs and searched all by the table, but to no avail. I take the stairs two at a time and open my bedroom door, checking underneath all my furniture, though why it would be down there was beyond me.

"There you are!" I cry, finding it under my bed, all the way against the wall.

I grab and it climb back on my bed, opening up Google Chrome. Typing _Dimitri Belikov_ in the search engine provided little results. I checked the school page, and found his class website. There wasn't much information there either.

"Fuck!" I swore. I drummed my fingers on my laptop, trying to think of something else I could put in the search engine. _Ivan Zeklos and Dimitri Belikov_.

This time, two results came up, one of which being a Tumblr account registered under the name Ivan Zeklos. I click on the link and scroll through his blog, looking for any mention of Mr. Belikov. I stopped on a picture of two young boys, one blond, and one brunette. The caption was in Russian and I copied and pasted it into Google Translate.

_Dimka and Ivan, age nine in Baia, Siberia, Russia._

Dimka?

I Googled the name Dimka, and quickly figured out that it was a diminutive of Dimitri. This time, I tried searching for Dimka Belikov and the first result was a Facebook page, belonging to a Viktoria Belikova. I clicked it and searched through her page. Her account wasn't set on private and I could see all her posts. One post in particular caught my eye. Like the rest of the posts, it was in Russian but one word in particular stood out to me.

Димка. Dimka.

I quickly copied the entire thing and put it through the translator. It came out all jumble and unintelligible. I scribbled it down on a piece of paper and crossed the hall to Lissa's room. Her light was thankfully still on and I opened her door.

"Lissa, do me a favor?" I asked sweetly. She arched an eyebrow and I hand her the paper. "Translate this?"

She shakes her head. "I'm not used to this dialect of Russian," she tells me. "I'm sorry."

"Do you understand any of it?" I sit next to her on the bed.

She studies the note before pointing out certain words. "This is 'brother' and 'America'," she shakes her head. "I think it basically says that her brother has moved to the United States from Russia, and that she misses him."

"Thank you, Lissa," I say hugging her before taking the paper back. My computer is blares as I get a message on Facebook. I ignore it and continue scrolling through Viktoria's profile. Right under the message is a picture of a girl who looks exactly like Mr. Belikova, except shorter and obviously female. And next to her is Mr. Belikov himself.

I have learned nothing new that was relevant to how he know about the incident. Fucking hell.

My computer goes off again, the messages racking up. Rolling my eyes, I click on the message icon. At the top, is a message from an unknown profile. I click the blurb and the messages fill my screen.

It's a ton of pictures. The first on is from last year. I can tell because my hair is shorter than it is now and I'm wearing the black and red cheerleading uniform that marked me as a Vladimir High School cheerleader. The next picture is me handing in my captain's wristband to Coach Tegan.

The last three pictures scare me the most. The first one is a video and my room appears on the screen. The owner of the camera picks up my laptop and opens it. The screen goes black and the next picture appears: a picture of Lissa and Christian going up the stairs, the date on the picture saying it was today.

The last picture accompanied a message: _I don't like to be kept waiting, Rosemarie. You should know this by now. _The picture was of me, my laptop open in front of me. This picture was just taken.


	4. Chapter 4

*****Thank you ForeverNicole, nofar123, ilovesos9467, Lisablackroses, ElectraHeart3, dimitriXroza100, and Romitri99 for being awesome and reviewing the last chapter. Thank you all so much for the amazing support for this story in such a short amount of time! I appreciate it more than words can say –skd*****

I didn't sleep at all that night. After reading the last message, I bolted out of my bed and pulled the curtains shut before slamming the lid to my laptop shut. I still felt like someone was watching me and I curled up on my bed, debating whether I should pull the covers over me. Part of me wanted to go wake up Lissa, but I didn't want to worry her any more than I already had. The incident had worried her enough as did my weekend adventures.

Slowly, the sky lightened and my alarm went off. My eyes were droopy and I reached over, shutting off the alarm. I couldn't bring myself to move from my bed and stayed there curled up.

"Rose?" Lissa knocked softly on the door before opening it. "Good, you're awake. I made breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," I told her, turning away.

"Are you sick? Rose Hathaway is always hungry," she joked, stepping into my room.

"I'm not sick, Lissa," I said, irritated. "I'm just not hungry."

Lissa didn't say anything but I could sense that she was still standing there. "Rose," she started.

"I'll be out soon," I snapped, fatigue getting to me. Lissa left, leaving the door open and I rolled back over. As clanging in the kitchen continued and Adrian, Sydney, and Christian arrived, I finally pulled myself out of bed. I stumbled around the room, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. Grabbing my secret bottle of vodka out of the hiding place in the bathroom, I took a swig. And another. And another. The bottle disappeared from my hands.

"Give it back!" I demanded, staring Adrian down. He studied me from head to toe.

"No," he finally answered. "You do not need to be going to school drunk."

"A sip won't make me drunk, you asshole," I snapped.

"A sip, Rose?" Adrian asked incredulously. "I've been standing here watching you down half of the bottle. You may have only taken three sips but you practically guzzled them."

"Adrian, I swear to God, if you don't give me my bottle back," I started.

"You'll what?" he taunted. "Hit me? You wouldn't. And you don't even believe in God."

"I would too," I snapped, removing my hand from the counter, taking a step towards him. The world shifted slightly and Adrian reached out to steady me. I wiggle out of his grip and left the bathroom, storming down the stairs.

"You look like shit," Christian drawled from the kitchen table, staring at me wide eyed.

"Fuck you," I snapped, flipping him the bird.

"Rose," Lissa started. I held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear it, Liss," I snapped. "I've had a long night and…never mind."

Ignoring Lissa, and by default Sydney, I slid into my black Vans and slammed the front door behind me. I unlocked my Camry and paused outside the driver's side, my head spinning. In an instant, I was transported back to the night of the accident. The blood, the smell of burning flesh, the pain.

I reeled back and ran into somebody. Whipping around, I half expected it to be my stalker. Instead, it was just Adrian. He took the keys out of my hand and walked me over to the passenger side of the car.

"Did you really think I was going to let you drive?" he questioned as he climbed into the car. "It's obvious that you got no sleep last night. Mixing that with alcohol spells disaster."

"You know how to spell, congratulations!" I clapped overenthusiastically. Rolling my eyes, I flipped my visor down. As much as I hated to agree with Christian, he was right: I did look like shit.

Adrian ignored my comment as he started the car. "Are you still having nightmares?"

"What about the others?" I asked softly, changing the topic.

"They're riding with Lissa," Adrian said, turning around in his seat and backing out of the parking spot. "Are you still having nightmares?"

"What classes do you have today?" I questioned him.

"Rose, stop changing the subject, and answer the damn question," Adrian replied, an irritated edge to his voice.

"No," I tell him. "I can't have nightmares if I don't sleep."

"Is that why you didn't sleep last night? So you wouldn't have any nightmares?"

"No."

"Then why didn't you sleep last night?"

"Adrian, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" I ask him. "It's nothing, I promise."

"Let me guess, you were up all night fantasizing about Belikov," Adrian teased.

I looked out the window and didn't bother to respond to his idiotic question.

"Rose, you can talk to me," Adrian said softly, parking in first parking spot of the second row.

"I don't want to talk, Adrian," I nearly shouted. "How many fucking times do I have to tell you?"

"I'm just trying to help, Rose," Adrian answered, hiding the hurt in his voice behind a smile.

"I don't need nor want your help," I snapped, holding my hand out for my keys. Adrian turns the car off before dropping them in my palm. "Thank you."

Throwing my car door, I went to grab my bag before remembering that I hadn't bothered going back inside for my bag. Instead, I walked into school with just my phone and keys. I make my way towards the main office and beg the secretary into giving me a copy of my schedule.

"Pray tell, Miss Hathaway, where is the schedule you received yesterday?" the old lady asked me over her glasses.

"I left it at home by accident," I told her. She glared at me. "Please, Mrs. Sanchez?"

"Knowing you, the minute I left the room, you would hack into the computer system to remove that incident of yours from your record.

"It's on my record?" I felt like screaming. That meant that any staff member, and the student aides could all know about the incident. Mrs. Sanchez glared at me again, surely believing that my surprise was faked.

"Dimitri, would you be a dear and make sure Miss Hathaway doesn't do anything stupid while I get her schedule from the printer?" Mrs. Sanchez spoke over my shoulder and I spun around, coming face to face with Mr. Belikov.

"Of course, Renee," Mr. Belikov answered, taking a seat near the desk. Mrs. Sanchez thanked him and hurried from the office. He studied me with dark, narrowed eyes and I turned away from his probing gaze.

"Why are you always in trouble?" he asked me softly. I twirl my keys on one finger, ignoring him. "Rosemarie, I am talking to you and I expect an answer."

"Like it's any of your business," I snap.

"Actually, as your teacher, it _is_ my business," he snapped right back.

"Aren't you supposed to be the adult?" I teased him, the words slipping out.

His smiled slightly. "I teach teenagers. My new motto is 'if you cannot beat them, join them'."

The familiar saying sound weird with his accent and the way he spoke, but in a good way. Flushing, I turned away from him again. "I'm not always in trouble."

"Your record begs to differ."

I whip back around, my previous embarrassment forgotten. "That's how you know about the incident," I accused.

He held his hands up in surrender position, smirking. "Guilty as charged."

"That is none of your fucking business," I hissed at him. "Stay the fuck out of my file."

"Language, Hathaway," he hissed back. "I am your teacher, show some respect."

"To get my respect, you have to earn it, Mr. Belikov. And snooping around in information that you have no business knowing is not something one does to earn it," I told him sweetly as Mrs. Sanchez walked about into the room. I took my schedule from her and walked out the room. I stop by my locker to pick up a spare pencil that I knew was inside. When I opened my locker, there was a plate with an egg sandwich, with bacon and cheese, on it and a bottle of water. I thanked Lissa mentally, reminding myself to thank her in person, and apologize for being bitchy, later.

I made my way to my first period, English four, and take the first seat I find, putting my head down.

"You're Rose Hathaway, right?" I looked up at the girl who spoke. Her blonde hair was styled artfully around her face in short waves and her crystalline blue eyes were highlighted by her makeup. She looked vaguely familiar. "Haley Pitman," she introduced herself, taking the seat next to mine. "You looked lonely."

I laughed internally. _Lonely. That exactly what the stalker wants. Looks like he's getting what he wants._

When I didn't say anything back, she sighed, pulling out a pristine copy of _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_.

"You're a Potterhead?" I asked, as she glanced up and grinned.

"Hell yes," she said gleefully. "Excuse my French."

I laughed. "That's nothing. Hell, I cuss like a damn sailor."

She joined me in laughing. "Weren't you a cheerleader last year?"

I froze. "Yes, but I'm not cheering this year."

"Any particular reason?"

"Personal reasons," I shrug.

"Okay," she replied, dropping the topic. "Please tell me that you aren't a Lily and Snape fan."

"Hell fucking no," I shook my head vehemently. She laughed again. "I personally don't believe that Snape loved Lily. It was more like obsession than love. He was willing to give up James's and Harry's lives for hers, while James was willing to give up his life for Lily and Harry. It's just plain creepy, especially since James's and Lily's Patronuses prove that they're soulmates."

"Miss Hathaway, Miss Pitman," the teacher called from the front of the room. "Be quiet, both of you."

"Yes, Ms. Langston," Haley answered, looking at the teacher with an innocent look.

"You know, I didn't peg you as much of a reader," Haley mused quietly as Ms. Langston turned her back.

"I'm actually not," I admit. "My roommate, Lissa Dragomir, is and she forced me to read the series a few years ago. She threatened me."

Haley laughed. "Lissa Dragomir threatened Rose Hathaway?"

I nodded. "She can be a hardcore bitch when she wants to."

Haley laughed again.

"Girls, do I need to separate you two?" Ms. Langston asked from the front of the classroom. Haley and I shook our heads in unison and she sighed. "Not another peep."

"Yes, ma'am," Haley told her, sitting up straighter. A few minutes later, a slip of paper landed on my desk with Haley's number and the words _text me_ scrawled across it. I grinned and slid the paper into my pocket.

Ms. Langston droned on and I felt myself drifting off. The bell jolted me awake and I said bye to Haley before walking to my next class. The day sped by, especially considering how I kept drifting off. Last period rolled around, and I was thankful for the shortened period. I saw Lissa's blonde head upon entering the classroom and took the seat next to her.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch this morning, and thank you for the food," I whispered to her as our theatre teacher entered the room.

"I forgive you. Adrian said you were having nightmares," she whispered back. "I'm here if you want to talk about it. I know you didn't last time, but it's been a while since you last had one."

That asshole. I was going to kill him. "As much as I appreciate it, I don't want to talk. Not because I don't trust you, but because I'm not having nightmares."

Lissa looked like she didn't believe me, but before she could say something, the bell cut us off, and Lissa turned into super student. I rolled my eyes and put my head down on my desk.

"Miss Hathaway!" Mrs. Martin was standing directly in front of my desk, glaring down at me. I jerked up, and rubbed my eyes. I had fallen asleep again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't sleep very well last night," I told her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lissa hovering near the doorway. I had slept through the bell.

"And whose fault is that?" she snapped at me. "Detention, Miss Hathaway. Please report to room 211 immediately. I have already called ahead and let him know that you will be coming."

I groaned and stormed out of the classroom, calling her every name I could think of under my breath.

I was nearly to 211 when I ran out of cuss words to use. Lissa was walking beside me silently. I handed her my keys.

"Drive my car home?" I asked her. "I'm going to the gym after this."

"Are you sure you should be working out?" Lissa was concerned. "You are awfully tired."

"I'll be fine," I snapped. The more I worked out, the more tired I would be, guaranteeing that I would sleep tonight. I quickly hugged her before taking a seat a desk and pulling out my phone.

I was scrolling through Vine when the phone disappeared from my hand.

"With the multiple times that you have been in detention, you should know the rules, Miss Hathaway," the voice said. I bristled. Oh, hell fucking no.

He walked into my line of sight and I glared at him.

"Looks like it is just me and you, Rosemarie," Mr. Belikov smirks, taking a seat in front of me.


	5. Chapter 5

*****Thanks to Do'B, ForeverNicole, Goodbye Until Tomorrow, luciinwaters, Abigael Ryan, Liza Krizova, Ginevra Annabeth Herondale, and Potterhead719 for reviewing last chapter. Maybe this one will answer some of the questions you guys have. **

**Potterhead719: Don't fall out of your chair this time, haha. Glad you loved the Haley/Rose action, figured you would. Enjoy the chapter, H. **

**Enjoy –skd*****

**Ivan POV**

I arrived as the bell rang and students flooded the hallways. For a second, I could have sworn that I saw Rose. Shaking my head, I wrote it off as an illusion and made my way into the main office.

"Ivan Zeklos," I told the woman at the desk, with a slight smiles. "I'm here to see Dimitri Belikov."

The woman wrote something on a piece of paper with a shaking hand, before slipping something under it and handing it to me.

"That's your pass to be in the school," she explained, blushing as I glanced over the other thing she handed me. Winking at her, I left the office. As soon as I was out of sight, I threw her phone number away in the trash can. The halls were close to being empty by this point, only people in sports uniforms lingered. At the end of the hall, two vaguely familiar girls stood, both dressed in black and red stripped turtleneck crop tops with black skirts, VHS written across the tops. Both had their hair tied up in high ponytails, black bows finishing the look. A flash of red on their wrists caught my eye. Captain's wristbands.

I approached them slowly. The two guys with them looked me up and down before putting protective arms around the two girls; staking their claim. I grinned internally. Stupid high school boys. Like I would ever go after a high school girl. They are way too immature and always wanted relationship, as if by sleeping with them, I magically became their boyfriend. There's only one person I want a relationship with and I'm seeing her tonight.

"Could you tell me where Dimitri Belikov's room is?" I asked the taller blonde girl. There was something about her that oozed niceness. She smiled sweetly, proving me right.

"It's three doors down, on the right," she answered me, turning slightly, and pointing behind her. "Room 211 is the one."

I thanked her and winked, much to her boyfriend's displeasure. I grinned as I passed them. They are so easily riled up, it's pathetic. I didn't bother to knock upon reaching Dimka's door, and instead, just swung the door open.

"Dimitri!" I shouted, strutting into the room. "Oh my God, what the fuck?"

I heard footsteps behind me and the two blondes from earlier were there, their boyfriends just behind them and just as worried. Dimitri whips around, glaring at me in surprise and a tiny dark haired figure darted out from behind him. The figure darted past me and I reached out, latching on to her arm.

"Rose?"

**Lissa POV**

"Rose and Belikov are going to kill each other," Adrian proclaimed, leaning against my locker.

"Why do you say that?"

"She has a crush on him," Sydney butts in. "But she won't admit it. And my personal opinion is that Mr. Belikov is experiencing some type of feeling for her, but is trying to brush it off by being an ass."

"But he's only being unprofessional and making Rose hate him," Christian finished. "The fucking idiot."

I roll my eyes and put my gym bag back in my locker. I yank the skirt down a bit and try to stretch out the crop top.

"Get used to it, Lissa," Sydney told me. "I've already tried talking to Coach about changing the uniform or at least getting bigger sizes, but she wouldn't hear it."

I groaned. "If Rose would have asked, she would have complied in a heartbeat. "I can't believe that she didn't want to be captain or even on the team this year."

"I asked her about it and she got really snappish with me. She used to love cheering," Sydney added, peeping around me to look in the mirror to check her bow. She had to stand on her tip toes to see into the mirror.

"Maybe she got kicked off the team," Christian added in gleefully. I could sense Sydney glaring at him, but I knew that it was just a façade and that beneath, he was really concerned.

"Squad," Adrian piped up.

"What?"

"It's not called a team. It's a squad," Adrian pushed off the lockers and crossed his arms. I glared at him in the mirror, eyes narrowed. He knew something about Rose that I didn't. He met my gaze in the mirror and smirked. I slammed the locker shut and turned around, intent on integrating him.

Christian's arms slide around me, pulling me closer to his body. I noted with interest that Adrian did the same to Sydney. I glanced down the hall, curious at what caused this sudden release of male testosterone. And then I found it.

Strutting down the hallway, was a boy. No, _man_. His blond hair was tousled artfully and his brown eyes sparkled with delight. The delight increased as his eyes landed on Christian and Adrian with their arms wrapped out their girls. His lips turn upward, smirking. He stopped in front on me. "Could you tell me where Dimitri Belikov's room is?"

I smiled politely at him. "It's three doors down, on the right." I turn slightly, and point behind me. "Room 211 is the one."

"Thank you, gorgeous," he tells me, winking. I sighed as Christian started to mutter cuss words under his breath and his arm around me tighten.

"That fucking asshole," Christian growled. "I don't like him. Lissa, stay the fuck away from him."

"When am I going to see him ever again, Christian? I don't even have Mr. Belikov as a teacher," I snapped at him, hands on my hips. "I highly doubt that I will ever see him after today, and trust me, even if I did, I wouldn't want to around him. He's an ass. I can see that just by looking at him."

"Lissa, I just want to protect you," Christian murmurs. He pulls me into a hug and I lean up to kiss his cheek.

The man's "Oh my God, what the fuck?" pulls us apart. Adrian and I share a look and we both take off running down the hall. I peer into the room and see the tiny figure dart out from underneath who I'm assuming is Mr. Belikov.

The man's hand reaches out and latches on to Rose's.

"Rose?"

She freezes and turns, facing the man. Her face pales and she glances over her shoulder at Mr. Belikov.

"I have to go," she muttered and yanked out of the man's grip. He started to follow her, but Mr. Belikov called him back with the shout of his name, "Ivan!"

The name rang a bell, and I recalled Rose mentioning sleeping with a guy named Ivan over the weekend. Guessing from his wide eye gaze, he didn't know that she was still in high school, senior or not.

**Rose POV**

I made it to the parking lot before remembering that I gave my keys to Lissa so that I could go to the gym after detention. Shit. No way in hell was I going back in there right now. I went to reach for my phone before realizing that Mr. Belikov still had it in his classroom. Fucking hell.

I gave up, and started jogging in the direction of the gym. The plus side of not having my phone meant that the stalker couldn't reach me.

"Rose!" I stopped jogging and turned around, looking for who called my name. I say Haley running towards me.

She stopped in front of me panting. "I noticed that you left Mr. Belikov's room in a hurry, but that you left your phone behind. I wanted to catch up to you before you got too far away."

"How did you know that I didn't have my phone?" I asked her with narrowed eyes.

"Mr. Belikov had it in his hand and Lissa grabbed it from him," she explained.

"Thank you, Haley," I told her. "Will you let Lissa know that I'm still going to the gym?"

Haley nodded. "Sure thing, Rose. I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiled once more before jogging back towards the school. I shivered slightly, and continued running towards the gym.

I arrive there in record time and throw myself into my routine, forgetting about everything, including Ivan, Mr. Belikov, and my creepy-ass stalker.

"Rose."

At the sound of my name, I nearly fell off the treadmill. I straighten myself and don't look at him.

"Not now, Ivan," I snap, increasing my speed.

"We need to have a little chat, Rose. I'm not leaving until we do," he said, simply, and leaned against the unoccupied treadmill next to me.

"Oh, hell fucking no," I mutter under my breath as I see Mr. Belikov walk in, his eyes scanning for Ivan. He starts making his way over towards us and I set the treadmill into a light jog for a cool down before climbing off and bolting for the door.

"Rose!" I hear the Russian accent, more pronounced than Ivan's and walk faster. "Rose, please."

I can't resist turning back ever so slightly. Mr. Belikov's hair is down around his face, instead of pulled back, and remorse is evident in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he steps closer. "I was being way too unprofessional, and I should have never pushed you like that. You're right, it's none of my business, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to go through that."

My phone goes off before I can answer, blaring "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars. I turn, walking away as I answer the phone.

"What's up, Liss?"

"Where are you?" Lissa says franticly, worry in her voice.

"I went to the gym. I sent Haley Pitman to tell you that I was still going to go to the gym before going home," I answer her. "Did she not get to you?"

"Who's Haley Pitman?"

"Short, blonde hair, always carrying around some book? You gave my phone to her to bring to me."

"Uh, whatever. Rose, you can't go home," Lissa says and I stop.

"What do you mean I can't go home?" I repeat.

"I drove your car back and Christian drove mine, but when we got back to the apartment, the door was hanging off its hinges. Christian called the police, he wouldn't let me go in until the police got there. The place is trashed, Rose," Lissa tells me.

"Lissa, where are you?" I ask her. "Are you at Christian's?"

"Yes, we'll come get you from the gym," Lissa says, relief in her voice.

"No, stay there. Do not leave Christian's. I'll find a place to stay until the apartment gets fixed," I order her. "Promise me that you won't leave Christian's except for school and church."

"Where are you going to be?" The words come out in a jumble.

"Promise me, Lissa," I urge.

"I promise," she says softly. "Where are you going, Rose?"

"Whose room was more destroyed?" I question, fear lighting up inside me.

"Yours. Whoever did this didn't even touch my room," she whispers. "It's really, really, bad."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," I promise her. "I'm going to be okay."

I hang up and glance behind me at Mr. Belikov's worried face. A black truck pulls up alongside him and Ivan sticks his head out the window. I smirk and jog over to the truck.

"Ivan, I need a favor."

Ivan pulls up outside the apartment complex and I hop out before the car is even to a complete stop. There has to be at least seven police cars surrounding the scene. The yellow caution tape is bright and iridescent in the flashing lights.

"Rose!" Mr. Belikov shouts, following me. I approach the first police officer I see.

"Rosemarie Hathaway," I tell him. "This is my apartment. I want to see the damage."

He gives me a dubious look and I fish my ID out of the pocket in my sweats, showing it to the officer. He lifts the tape and I duck under. Mr. Belikov tries to follow me and the officer stops him. Mr. Belikov shows the officer something and he immediately lets Belikov in.

"What did you show him?" I hissed as I ran up the steps to the apartment. He didn't answer me and instead went into the apartment before me.

The first thing I noticed was that the couch was broken and destroyed, and the television had a huge hole in the center. The bookshelves were in pieces and the books that were on them were simply ashes on the floor. The only books that remained unharmed were my first edition _Harry Potter_ novels. Every plate in the kitchen were smashed and in tiny, sharp pieces on the kitchen floor. The table looked as though someone had hit it with a baseball bat. I pushed past Dimitri and took the stairs two at a time.

Police officers milled in and out of my room and I walked in. And promptly froze.

There wasn't one thing left undamaged. My laptop was grey and black pieces and my white comforter was in pieces, the down inside of it litter over the floor. The bed frame itself has deep grooves all over it, and the wood is splintered. The desk that once held my schoolwork is broken apart and the papers burned. My clothes laid scattered in shreds around the room, and all of my undergarments were just lace strips that hung around the room.

The part that frightened me the most, however, were the collage of photographs that were pinned on the wall. Photo after photo of me sleeping, of me partying, some of me going home with Ivan, and of me going home with other guys. There were a couple of me in my cheerleader uniform and even a few of when I first get out of the shower, my body nude and bare for everyone in the room to see. The nude pictures were the biggest pictures in the room, and across them in red paint, the words, _YOU'RE GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE, YOU STUPID WHORE_were written.

I turn, bile in my throat and ran into Mr. Belikov. "Get me out of here," I whispered and he pulled me from the room and down the stairs and back outside.

"Rose," Mr. Belikov starts and I hold up my hand, before bending over and emptying my stomach's content into the bushes. My sleepless night caught up with me, and I felt the weariness stronger than ever. I sway and the darkness that hovered at the edges claimed me. Just before I lost all bearing, and my vision and hearing disappeared, I heard the whispered words, "I've got you."

And then I heard nothing.


	6. Chapter 6

*****Big thanks to ilovesos9467, luciinwaters, Victoria Marie Dragomir, Potterhead719 (aka TheProlificWriterGirl), DemonsRelm, Romitri99, Nuuk, Do'B, and Linseyvwvaobsessed for all of your wonderful reviews! Enjoy! –skd*****

I woke with a start. Sunlight streamed through the curtains to my left, and I was tucked under the covers of a massive bed. Pushing my wayward hair out of the way, I sat up and took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Not five feet away was another massive bed, this one empty, though the sheets were rumpled, cueing me in to the fact that someone was sleeping in it not long ago. I flip the covers off, and climbed down off the bed. The air conditioner grumbled from beneath the window and I crossed over to it, separating the curtains.

A tiny empty parking lot was directly beneath the window and beyond that was little for the eye to see. Immediately I started to freak out. Searching my pockets for my phone, I came up empty handed, only fueling my paranoia. In the closet next to the bed, a white blouse was hanging up, a black pencil skirt hanging beside it. My heeled boots were lined up neatly below it and a bra and change of underwear were in a bag behind the shoes. I didn't bother to wonder how they got here, and slid the skirt on before tucking the blouse into it after changing my undergarments. I yanked on the ankle boots, zipping up the sides.

The bathroom door swung open and I froze. It was all too easy for the repressed flashback to take hold.

"_What am I doing here?" I cried out as the locked door swung open. _

"_Dear Rosie," she whispered, stalking closer to me. Her face was covered, the only identifying thing about her was the long blonde hair. I backed up on instinct and she reached out, her acrylic nails digging into the skin on my wrist. "You're here because I brought your dumb ass here."_

"_Let me go, or I swear-"_

_She laughed. "You don't swear anything, Rose. What are you going to do? Attack me?"_

_I grit my teeth and she grins, pushing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "That's what I thought."_

"_Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?" _

"_You're a bad girl, Rosie. And bad girls deserve to be punished," she hissed. The door opened again and a tall figure entered the room. "She's all yours." _

_The blonde stalked out of the room and the tall figure laughed, coming towards me. _

"_Rose, can you hear me?" A voice was calling my name. "Rose? Roza?"_

I jolt out of the repressed flashback and stare into familiar brown eyes. I yelped and leapt backwards out of his reach. His brow furrowed in concern.

"Stay the fuck away from me," I hissed, my body moving into a defensive position. "Give me back my phone, and just let me go."

Mr. Belikov held his hands up in surrender. "Your phone is charging on the dresser. It kept going off last night. You can go anytime you like, I am not trying to keep you here."

"Back up," I hissed. "Back the fuck up!" I shouted when he didn't move. His eyes widened and he slowly backed away from the dresser.

"Car keys?"

"Ivan dropped us off here, I can call him and have him take you to school," Mr. Belikov stated, slowing reaching into his pocket for his own phone.

I laughed bitterly. "Do you really think that I'm going to go to school?"

His eyes narrow. "I understand that you went through a traumatic event with everything that happened at your apartment, but that does not mean that you can just skip school."

"Traumatic event?" I laughed again. "Traumatic doesn't begin to describe it. Somebody broke in to my apartment and went through my underwear. They posted naked pictures on my wall for the entire police squad to see!" My eyes narrow. "Why am I here?"

"When you passed out, I had to take you somewhere. A hotel seemed most appropriate considering that we are teacher and student," he answered softly. "I obviously couldn't take you to my house and Ivan's was not even considered for obvious reasons."

Jealously sparked briefly in his eyes as his lips tightened into a thin line.

"I'm starting to believe that you don't know what happened to me. If you did, you wouldn't have brought me here," I told him.

"Of course I know what happened to you. It is in your school record," he snaps. "Well, not all the details obviously, but-"

"But nothing. You don't know anything, because if you did, you would have taken me to a hotel in the city once I passed out instead of this barren wasteland. When I looked out the window and saw nothing but fields…it wasn't exactly reassuring," I snapped, darting forward and grabbing my phone.

"There were no other hotels with any rooms available. I was lucky to find this one, just unlucky to get the one with the window facing the fields versus the city," Mr. Belikov answered, glancing down at his phone. "Ivan's on his way."

"I'm not going to school. I'm hunting down the son of a bitch who did this to me and I'm going to kick their ass. Then they'll learn not to fuck with Rose Hathaway," I snapped, making my way to the door. He grabbed my wrist and I yelped, lashing out at him. I swing around, my free hand curled into a fist. Mr. Belikov's left hand grabs my fist as I wiggled my right hand out of his grip. His hand moves up blocking my punch again and I bring my knee up, hitting the target. Pain flashes on his face and his grip loosens. I free my hands and one 'accidently' connects with his windpipe. He gasps and I shove him down, placing the heel of my boot on his throat. I pressed down slightly and his eyes bulged.

"Don't fucking touch me," I hissed, bending down. I released him and stormed out the room, but not before I caught him staring at my bare legs.

"Where do you think you're going, Rosie?" Ivan strolled up next to me. I flinched.

"Don't call me that," I hissed to him, remembering that flashback that I had forgotten until today.

"Dimitri texted me, told me to take you to school," he continued to follow me. "And I'm going to do just that."

"How about we don't and say we did?" I pushed past him and he simply jogged up beside me.

"Dimitri also told me that you kicked his ass up there, and while I don't want to fight with you, I will," Ivan remarked softly. "You told Lissa that you would go to school."

"I'll call her later," I muttered.

"She'll come and try to find you, and you know it," he says, still walking beside me.

I stopped and faced him. "How do you know so much about my best friend?"

"I talked with her yesterday. Let her know that you were safe and would most definitely be at school tomorrow. She told me that she would hunt you down herself if you didn't show," he smirks. "That's one hell of a best friend you got there."

On cue, my phone rings with Lissa's signature ringtone.

"Liss-"

"Rose, you promised. Like I told Ivan, I will hunt your ass down and drag you to school if I have to," she snapped. "I better see you next period or else." The warning bell sounded in the background. "I have to go. Next period, Rose."

The line went dead and I groaned. It was then that I noticed we were in the parking lot and outside Ivan's truck. He opened the door for me like a gentleman and I scoffed. He was certainly no gentleman. Our night together proved that.

He pulled up to Vladimir High School thirty minutes later and he parked the truck.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in high school?" he blurts out.

I arch an eyebrow. "Would you have slept with me if you knew?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you have your answer. Everybody views high school girls as immature and clingy. I'm the exact opposite. Nobody ever suspects that I'm in high school, and I want to keep it that way," I answered, hopping out of the truck. "Oh and tell Mr. Belikov that ice will help and next time, don't grab me."

I slammed his truck door behind me and walked into the school.

"Miss Hathaway!" Mrs. Sanchez came barreling out of the office. "What exactly do you think you're doing? School started over three hours ago."

"I will vouch for her, Renee," a wary voice said behind me. "Her car broke down and she had to walk to school. Miss Hathaway does not exactly live the closest."

Mr. Belikov walked into view and I cursed under my breath. Mrs. Sanchez regarded me warily and wrote me a pass to class, which just happened to be boring as hell pre-calculus.

"I will escort her to class," Mr. Belikov spoke up, gesturing for me to go ahead of him. I smirked. At least he learned his lesson. As soon as we were out of sight of the main office, Mr. Belikov pulled me into a vacant classroom.

"What the fuck?"

"I believe that we already had a talk about language, Rosemarie," he snaps, crossing his arms. "You assaulted me," he accused.

I shrugged. "Don't grab me next time. Like I said, you must really not know what happened to me. Regardless of the fact that I don't really know myself, you should never grab someone like that."

"You do not know what happened?"

I roll my eyes. "I know the basics from what the police told me. But other than that? The doctors say that I was too traumatized and my brain gave me amnesia to protect myself from the memories," I answered, looking down. "I remember bits and pieces and have had a couple flashbacks, but it barely tells me anything."

"I am sorry," he blurts.

I look up through blurry eyes. "Why? You didn't kidnap me."

"Still," he murmurs. Reaching forward slowly, he brushes wayward hair out of my face and my breath catches. The sunlight streaming through the window hit his hair, making it appear lighter and his chocolate brown eyes melted. His lips tilted upwards in a smirk and I flushed. "See something you like?" he whispers, stepping closer. My breath catches again and I back up. My back hit the wall and panic fills me. Unlike yesterday when he cornered me in his room, he notes the change immediately and backs away.

"Rose. Look at me. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out," he murmurs, bending slightly so he was at my level. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

"Just breathe, Roza. Look in my eyes. Focus on my eyes and just breathe. Look in my eyes and see that I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered.

Slowly, my panic ebbed away. I leaned back against the wall and slowly slid down it until my butt was resting against the cold tiled floor. I brought my legs up and wrapped my arms around my legs, resting my head on my clasped arms. I didn't even care if I was flashing Mr. Belikov.

He moved and sat down next to me, copying my position. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you do…" He trails off.

"How did you know what to say?" I questioned softly. "To calm me down."

"My sister has panic attacks. I used to be the only one who could calm her down," he answers. He pulls out his phone and shows me the same picture that I saw on the Facebook page. "Her name is Viktoria."

I study the girl and note the similarities that we have. Our dark eyes are similar, though hers are slightly lighter. Her brown hair was streaked with gold and her grin was magnificent.

"She's beautiful," I whispered. Dimitri smiled.

"That she is. She was so upset when she found out that I was leaving Russia to come here," he whispered. "She was even more upset when I told her Ivan was coming with me and she could not come with us."

"How old is she?"

"Seventeen, almost eighteen," he answered. A wistful note joined his voice. "I planned to fly home for her birthday, but I cannot."

"Thank you."

"For what?" He was genuinely surprised.

"For taking care of me last night and just now," I said, pushing myself off the floor. I ducked into the closet, praying that the ice machine was still in here. "Bingo," I whispered. Filling a Ziploc bag with ice cubes, I brought it out to Dimitri. His tan skin flushed.

"I am okay, Rose," he said, wincing barely as he pushed himself up off the floor, his tall body unfolding gracefully.

"Bullshit," I murmured, stepping closer to him. "Take the ice, Dimitri."

"I do not need it," he insisted. I narrowed my eyes and took another step closer. I grabbed his hand and placed the ice in it before moving his hand so that the ice was on his crotch. His sigh of relief was barely audible. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I kissed his cheek and walked out of the room.

"Rose!" Lissa called. "About damn time you got here."

She through her arms around me and I hugged her back.

"Did you go and see the apartment?" I nodded and she frowned. "I'm so sorry."

I shrugged. "It's going to be okay, Liss. I promise."

Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned, facing the small figure in front of me.

"Lissa, this is Haley Pitman," I said, introducing the two. Lissa's eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh duh," she answered. "I was so distracted last night that I wasn't paying attention to half of what you said."

Haley laughed, and shrugged. "Ready for HOPE, Rose?"

I rolled my eyes.

"We're getting our locks today. We're also supposed to be wearing tennis shoes," Haley reminds me. I shrug.

"Too bad," I laughed as Lissa gave me a disapproving look.

"Just don't get detention again," she warned.

"He won't give me detention," I say confidently. _After all, it's not like I had a variety of shoe choices this morning._

The warning bell rings and Haley and I rush to class. The final bell rang as we entered the classroom and Mr. Belikov asked Haley to shut the door. I caught a glimpse of the ice bag still resting on his crotch and smirked before taking my seat.

He called roll, before announcing that he will be calling us up one by one to get our locks.

"Rosemarie Hathaway!"

I saunter to the desk, walking around behind it instead of standing in front of it. He eyes my shoes and sighs.

"I should chastise you for your shoes, but considering what you went through and that it is the first week, I am not going to say anything," he remarks, handing me a lock as I give him my five dollars.

"Well, I wasn't exactly given a choice in what I wanted to wear today," I muttered. He studies my outfit.

"Where did you even get those clothes?"

"They were hanging in the closet this morning. I thought you put them there," I answered slowly. He shook his head. "Ivan must have done it then. Pervert." He shook his head again.

"No, I asked Ivan if he brought up the clothes and he said no," Mr. Belikov answered.

"You're scaring me. Are you seriously saying that neither you nor Ivan gave me these clothes?"

He nods.

"I need to take them off, now," I stuttered in panic. "I can't be wearing them."

His eyes widen and he reaches under his desk, pulling out a duffel bag. "There's a pair of gym short and a t-shirt." He eyed my shoes again.

"I have flip flops in my locker," I hastily said. He nods and motions to the door. Before I could make it there, it swung open and two men in suits walked in. They flashed their badges simultaneously. The classroom lights glinted off the iconic FBI badges.

"Mr. Belikov, sorry to interrupt your class, but I'm Agent Winchester and this is my partner Agent Gallagher. We need to speak with a Miss Rosemarie Hathaway."


	7. Chapter 7

*****I am officially out of school and in summer break, thank hallelujah! I'm leaving this weekend for a vacation to visit with family, and will not be updating any stories during that time. I probably won't even have time to write any part of another chapter for any stories. Thank you to DemonsRelm, TheProlificWriterGirl, Nuuk, luciinwaters, , ilovesos9467 for reviewing chapter 6. Enjoy the chapter, even if it on the slightly short side –skd*****

**TheProlificWriterGirl: Glad I could make you laugh, dear. Got quite a few marbles rolling around in that head of yours, with a side of screws, don't you? As a smart man once said, "And that, kids, is when the fit hit the shan". **

* * *

The bag dropped from my hands and hit the floor with a resounding thud and I tensed. On the logical side, my brain told me that they most likely wanted to question me about the situation with the apartment, but I wasn't listening to my brain. Adrenaline rushed through my body, my instinct leaning towards flight since I obviously couldn't take on two federal officers. Panic set in as I glanced around and realized that the only exit was the door which just happened to be blocked by men who had nearly a half a foot on me at least. Gallagher's eyes caught mine and recognition flared in them. He smirked at me before his eyes flicked back to Mr. Belikov.

Whispers broke out across the classroom like wildfire and a few people shot me glares. The taller of the two men –Winchester– eyed Mr. Belikov before his gaze moved to me. He glanced at Gallagher, whose eyes were roaming the classroom.

"May I see those badges again?" Mr. Belikov questioned, standing up and walking past me. Both men pulled out their wallets and flipped them open. Belikov stood there, arms crossed, studying the shiny badges intently, though there was no mistaking that this was the real deal.

"Is Miss Hathaway here? We don't have all day, Mr. Belikov," Gallagher snapped, knowing full well that I was directly behind him. Mr. Belikov turns and his gaze flicks to me briefly, and both agents played the part of following the gaze, and their eyes snapped to me.

"I'm Rose Hathaway," I gulp, stepping forward, past Mr. Belikov. His arm jerks, and he winces, obviously remembering what happened last time he grabbed me.

"Rose, wait."

I ignore Adrian's whispered protest and Gallagher reaches out, wrapping his hand around my arm, leading me out the door. I'm so tensed, I feel like a rubber band that has been stretched too far, and shift my weight on to the balls of my feet, even though I know that I can't do anything without having an assault charge put against me. Winchester follows him and I stare between the two.

"Wait." Mr. Belikov steps out of the room, following us. "Miss Hathaway is a minor and cannot be questioned without a parent or guardian present."

"We will take care of that, Mr. Belikov," Gallagher shrugged him off and led me down the hallway and into an empty classroom, gesturing for me to take a seat. Opting to stand, I fidget with my skirt.

"Well, Miss Hathaway, we just have a few questions for you," Agent Winchester says, perching on the edge of a desk.

"What about the parent or guardian being present?" I interrupt innocently. "Isn't that the law when questioning minors?"

"Where are your parents, Miss Hathaway?" Gallagher asked me, glaring. The glint in his tells me that he already knows exactly where my parents are and I glare at him.

"They're not here anymore, but you already knew that, Mr. Gallagher, didn't you?" I question.

"_Agent _Gallagher," he practically growls. "As you have no parents that are alive, that rule is not important. Now, on to the questi-."

"But I have guardians. Eric and Rhea Dragomir," I tell him. "They count as my parents since they adopted me into their family when I was young."

"I was speaking, little girl," he snaps stepping closer to me. He leans downs slightly so that he was in my face and I clench my hands to keep myself from flinching away or backing up. "Show me some damn respect or I won't respect you. It's a two-way street."

"Do you honestly think that I am afraid of you?" I murmur. "So basically you mean that if I don't treat you as an authority figure, you won't treat me as a person?"

I can practically feel the fury emitting off of him and he jerks back, storming to the other side of the room.

"Last night, the apartment you share with Vasilisa Dragomir was broken into, correct?" Agent Winchester asked me softly.

"I'm not answering anything until one of my guardians show up," I cross my arms over my chest and Winchester sighs.

"Miss Hathaway, we–I–need you to answer these questions so that we can be a couple steps closer to solving this mystery and protecting you."

"I don't need protection from you two asshats. I can protect myself," I glare at him.

Gallagher whips around. "Really, Miss Hathaway? Because I seem to remember a case with you name on it not too long ago in which you weren't too adept at protecting yourself. Remember that?"

This time, I do flinch. "Shut up."

Gallagher grins, knowing that he has hit a nerve. "You know it's the truth. You were too weak to protect yourself then, and if wasn't for us, then you would still be her bitch or worse."

"That is utter bullshit, and you know it," I snarled at him. "If it wasn't for you, it would have never happened in the first place. If you would have fucking believed me-."

Gallagher leers down at me. "There was nothing to believe. All you told was lies."

"Miss Hathaway," Winchester intervenes and steps between myself and Gallagher. "Just take a seat and answer the questions. Then you can get back to class."

"God, you two have gotten dumber, haven't you? What part of 'I'm not answering anything' do you not understand?"

"Listen, Miss Hathaway," Gallagher snarls. "This is simple, routine questioning. You need to answer our questions. Or else."

"Are you _threatening _me?" I laugh humorlessly. "I don't need to do anything. You cannot legally question me without Eric or Rhea being here, and I will not answer anything until they are here."

"Miss Hathaway, please," Winchester says as Gallagher backs up. "We would really appreciate your cooperation. It's just a few simple questions."

"Good cop and bad cop?" I laugh again. "This isn't my first encounter with police, gentlemen, and it's not my first encounter with you."

"But we aren't the police," Gallagher snaps. "We're a lot worse than the police."

I glare at him. "I refuse to answer any questions. May I go now?"

"When were you made aware of the fact that someone had broken into your apartment?" Gallagher pushes.

"Goodbye, gentlemen."

"You cannot go anywhere until we finish our questions," Gallagher fumes.

"Actually, I can. When you brought me in here, you were supposed to read me my Miranda rights, which you didn't do, and inform me that since I am a minor, I am legally allowed to leave at any time I wish," I tell him, walking over to the door. They both look at me with wide eyes. "I've studied since the last time we talked."

I'm halfway out the door when Gallagher speaks. "We know that the Eric and Rhea Dragomir are dead, Miss Hathaway, and we know how they were killed."

I walk out of the room and let the door slam behind me.

* * *

The door to room 211 was cracked open, and I walked into the classroom as quietly as I could, which wasn't easy in spiked boots. Sliding into my seat in front of Adrian, I ignored Belikov's stare. My encounter with the Gallagher and Winchester took up most of the class time, and left me slightly shaken. I really wish I could deal with anybody but them. By the time I was back, the class was mostly talking amongst themselves while Mr. Belikov filled out a few papers.

"Rose."

I flinch as Adrian taps me on the shoulder and slowly turn and face him.

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked back, putting on a fake smile.

"Because those assholes practically dragged you out of here," Adrian whispered. "And I know full well that they know exactly who you are."

"I couldn't exactly stop them, Adrian," I whispered back. "Didn't have much of a choice."

"Miss Hathaway," Mr. Belikov called as the bell rang. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"She can't," Adrian answered for me, glaring at him.

"I wasn't asking you, Mr. Ivashkov," he glares right back.

"Both of you stop it," I stare down each of them. "You are acting like damn fools. I'm tired and I have a lot to do."

"Rose, are you okay?"

I spit out the same response that I gave Adrian and walked away before he could say anything else. I stormed out of the school, not stopping by my locker or acknowledging Lissa, and started walking the familiar route home.

* * *

I stood outside the apartment, the yellow caution tape still in place and part of me wants to duck under the tape and go inside. Instead, I just stand there, staring at the building that I've called home for the past few months. Gallagher's words replayed in my head, and, not for the first time, I heard the unspoken words, _and it's all your fault_.

"Rose, what are you doing?" A black truck pulls up next to me and engine is shut off. Ivan hops out of his truck, walking around to my side.

"Why are you here?" I ask him, still staring at the apartment.

"Dimitri asked me to check up on you," Ivan shrugs. "You're friendlier towards me than him."

"You know why that is, Ivan," I say, still not looking at him.

"I do," he agrees. "Come on, I'll take you back to the hotel."

"Hell no," I growl, facing him for the first time. "I'm not spending another night with him."

His eyebrows arched. "Rose, you didn't spend the night with Dimitri. I watched over you last night and Dimitri got there around five and I crashed back at my apartment for a few hours before going for coffee."

"He let you spend the night with me? I sincerely doubt that."

Ivan studies me, debating something over in his head before turning away. "Let's go, Rose."

"No."

"Fine, I'll take you to my apartment," Ivan compromises.

"I need new clothes, Ivan," I point out, ignoring his statement. "I can't wear this every day, and the fact that it just appeared in the closet makes me itching to get out of this getup."

He sighs and gives me a look. "Then I'll take you shopping. Now, let's go. Someone might be watching the apartment."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll walk."

Silence follows me as I start walking down the sidewalk.

"I see the way you look at him."

"Excuse me?" I freeze.

"You heard me."

"You don't know anything," I say through gritted teeth.

"But I do," he says. "Since I first saw you at the high school, trapped against the wall by him. You weren't exactly resisting or trying to get away, now were you?"

"Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about. You know nothing.

"I know a lot, Rosie."

_Rosie, Rosie, Rosie, such a naughty girl. And naughty girls deserve to be punished. _

Fear grasps me in its clutches as the words sear my brain and my breathing turns rapid. "What did you just say?" I gasp out.

He stares at me for a moment before answering. "Are you feeling okay?"

He steps towards me, and I stumble backwards, one arm in front of me, warding him off.

"Rose?" His brow furrows.

"Stay back," I whisper. "Get away from me."

He freezes in place. "Hey, Rose," he says gently. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

"Don't. Call. Me. Rosie," I whisper.

"I didn't. I called you Rose," he murmurs. Slowly, my breathing starts to return to normal, and he takes small baby steps forward. "Are you okay?"

I nod shakily, wrapping my arms around myself.

"I can help you get what you want," he whispers a few seconds later.

"How do you know what I want?"

"It's obvious. I'll help you get Dimitri, even though I don't think that he is in any manner good for you, in exchange for one thing," Ivan tells me, lacing his arm through mine, subtly directing me towards the truck.

My eyes narrow as I look up at him. "What do you want?"

"One date. One chance to prove to you that maybe the one you want is right here in front of you." He stops all together and cups my face in his hands.

"Ivan."

"No, no arguments. One chance," he whispers. "What do you say? Do we have deal?"


	8. Chapter 8

***Sorry that it's been forever since I updated. The smer just flew by and it's hard to believe that it's already September. Happy Labor Day to those living in the USA and a huge thanks to Do'B, VAvixin69, DemonsRelms, ilovesos9467, TheProlificWriterGirl, and Alena for reviewing the last chapter. Enjoy!***

* * *

"So?" Ivan questioned as I stared at him blankly. "Do we have a deal or not?"

"Goodbye, Ivan." Silence follows me once more as I walked down the sidewalk, but this time, Ivan didn't have anything to say. I heard the door of his truck open and close and the engine roared to life behind me. Refusing the allow myself to glance back, I continued walking, despite being plainly obvious of the truck following me.

It was only Wednesday, and I had already met my stress quota for the year. Between my stalker, Ivan and Mr. Belikov, it's no wonder that I needed a drink desperately. And a bed companion.

My phone buzzed against my hip from its hidden pocket in my skirt and I fish it out, not even glancing at the Caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Rose? It's Haley," the bubbly voice told me from the other end.

"Hi, Haley," I murmur. "Look, not to be rude, but I'm kind of busy right now. I have a lot on my plate."

"That's actually why I called. I heard about what happened and wanted to know if you needed a place to stay," she replied.

"I don't want to impose," I tell her softly, keenly aware that Ivan's truck was still hovering.

Haley laughed. "You aren't imposing in any way. I promise."

"Haley, I'll text you," I tell her, hanging up and walking in the opposite direction. I glanced down, typing out a brief message to Haley, asking her to meet me at the mall. My phone buzzed a few seconds later with a message that simply said _K_.

Glancing slightly behind me as I turned the corner, I could see that Ivan was still following me. Seeing the approaching bus, I dug two dollars out of my pocket and boarded the creep-filled city bus. Though my headphones were in, they didn't play any music. I knew better than to do that.

The bus ride was taking longer than I expected, and the bus was rapidly filling with creepier and creepier people. However, a glance out the windows every now and then told me that Ivan was no longer following me, which made dealing with the creepiest people in the city worth it.

Through my headphones, I heard the woman's voice announce that we were now approaching Lakeside Mall and as the bus slowed, I stood. It came to a stop with a lurch and I exited out the back door as people entered through the front.

I scanned the parking lot for Ivan's familiar truck, but it was too hard to figure out if the black trucks I saw were his. My phone buzzed and glancing down, I saw Haley's name flash on the screen besides a message.

_Meet me in Victoria's Secret?_

I started to type a reply back, and dropped my phone as familiar engine roared beside me before shutting off. The doors squeaked open and dug my fingernails into my palm. I crouched down to pick up my phone, and without bothering to text Haley back, I walked away from the curb. Gallagher chuckled lowly behind me.

"You can't run from us, Hathaway."

I ignored him and followed a group of girls in the mall, burying myself in the tail end of their group. As I followed the group, I glanced behind me, checking to see if they were following me. When I finally make my way to Victoria's Secret, after being certain that I wasn't followed, Haley was checking her phone every five seconds while pretending to browse threw underwear.

As if sensing that I was there, she turned around and grinned, before worry and sympathy filled her large blue eyes. "Hey, are you okay?"

I nodded, starting to spit out the same respond that I had given Adrian and Dim- Mr. Belikov- earlier, but I halted mid sentence, and simply shook my head. She wrapped her tiny arms around me, and whispered that it was going to be okay, and that the police would catch the creep who did this.

I laughed bitterly. "No, they won't. They didn't catch the creep last time, and she was _right there_."

"Last time?"

"Aren't you a student aide?" When she nodded, I continued. "And you haven't read my file?"

She shook her head again. "Not all aides are nosy little bitches."

"I was kidnapped, and missing for five months," I told her, not elaborating on any details. Not that I could if I wanted to.

She mused over this for a few seconds before saying, "She?"

I shrugged. "I have vague memories of a blonde, and then there was a guy, but that's all I remember."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

I blinked rapidly, and gave her a weak smile. "Let's shop. I really need to get out and rid of these clothes."

Haley nodded, and as we moved around the store, I warned her that the asshat agents could possibly be in the mall, tailing me, and her lips harden.

"They knew who you were earlier, didn't they?"

I nodded and paid for the undergarments I had grabbed before continuing. "Yes. They dealt, incorrectly, I might add, with an incident last year, and they got me out of where I was being held."

"God, they sound like asshats."

"They most definitely are, and they think that they can control me because they're older," I tell her, linking arms with her. "Though I must admit, they're hot."

Haley laughed, and started to take my mind off of everything by telling me stories about her family and crazy cat, while she dragged me from store to store. Ducking into one of the bathrooms, I changed out of the skirt and into a pair of tight, flattering dark wash skinny jeans, and a spaghetti strap white, lace crop top. I kept the boots, and threw the old clothes in the trash can, though I would have preferred to burn them. Haley handed me a ponytail and I wrapped my hair up into a bun.

"Better?"

"Much."

We spent the rest of the night walking around the mall, and though I didn't buy much, just a few shirts and bottoms, I found myself having more fun than usual.

Haley's phone buzzed again, and she grimaced. "I have to get home, and I was serious about you staying with me for a while. My parents are fine with it, and I have a trundle bed, so it won't be cramped or anything."

I smiled. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I don't want to impose or put you or your family in danger."

"Rose-."

"I promise that I'll be fine." I reassured her. "I'll stay holed up and be good, I promise."

She smiled, and insisted on at least taking me to a hotel.

I shook my head. "It might put you in danger if you knew where I was. Whoever is doing this doesn't care about hurting other people, and I couldn't deal with you getting hurt because of me. I'll text you when I-."

"She will be fine, Haley," an accented voice interrupted me. "Ivan and I will make sure of it."

"Mr. Belikov," she stammered, blushing. "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to take Rose back to the hotel since she refused to let Ivan take her," he answered, giving her a half smile. He turned to me, his dark eyes traveling the length of my body. "You have changed."

I tugged at my crop top, insecure for a brief moment before hiding behind sarcasm. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

His lips flattened into a line and he crossed his arms across his chest. "Rose, say your goodbyes."

I rolled my eyes and hugged Haley. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I count on it," she whispered. "I'm seeing the way you look at him. Don't do anything you'll regret."

I grinned at her. "I very rarely regret the things I do, and trust me, I won't regret doing him."

"Don't forget that he's our teacher. Can you spell awkward?"

I grinned at her. "It's only going to be awkward because he's going to be begging for more."

She shook her head, and laughed. "Behave."

"Always."

She gave me one last hug before walking through the JCPenny to get to her car.

"Rose, what are you doing?"

"I got new clothes since that psycho cut up all of mine, Comrade," I told him. "Oh, and thanks for covering me for Haley, but I don't need you or Ivan to babysit me."

"Let's go, Rose. I am not going to let you leave here alone."

I glared at him and he glared right back. I smirked internally and nodded, allowing Dimitri to lead me to his grey SUV. The black Impala that startled me earlier was still parked at the curb and I clenched my bags tighter.

Like a gentleman, he opened my door for me and put my bags in the backseat of the SUV, before walking around to his side.

"Nice car," I said, running my hand over the black leather. He pushed the Start/Stop button and swung out of the parking spot. As he drove, every once in a while, the street lights would light up his face and I would see him staring at me.

The highway was calm and my mind started to drift. As it did, part of me wished desperately that I could remember everything that had happened and part of me wishing that I never remember. I kept seeing _her _long blonde hair that swung so elegantly over her shoulder, and the way she spoke that seemed so familiar.

"Rose? Roza? Roza!"

I jolted and saw Dimitri staring at me, the car parked and off at the hotel.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, worried.

I nodded. _Roza._ "What did you call me?"

With the faint light, I thought that I saw him blush. "Your name in Russian," he answered softly. "It pulled you out of the trances the last few times," he continued by way of explanation. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"I'm fine," I told him, turning away. I opened the door, and he grabbed my arm.

"Please talk to me," he whispered.

"Dim-Mr. Belikov," I corrected.

"You can call me Dimitri," he told me. "If you want to or if it makes you feel safer."

"Dimitri, I'm fine," I told him.

"Roza," he stopped me again. "You are not. I know that you cannot be okay."

"But I am."

"No. I do not believe you," he said stubbornly, still holding my arm.

Tears prickled at me eyes and I tried to blink them away before he could see, but as his face softened, I knew that he did.

"Talk to me, please."

My mouth opened and once I started, I couldn't stop. "I'm so scared. I don't want this to happen again, and though I can't remember it, I don't want to have to go through it again. I'm not over being scared of the shadows and now I'm scared that I'm never going to be able to get over it. I'm scared that whoever is doing this will hurt Lissa or one of my friends to get to me. Or even that they might hurt you or Ivan, and I can't let anyone else die or get hurt, not again. I can't do it again. I'm scared to walk outside, and for weeks after getting back, I didn't want to get out bed and now I wish that I never did, that I had just ended my misery months ago, because if I would have, then none of this would be happening now, and-."

He pulled me to him, crushing me against his chest, and my heaving sobs were muffled by his jacket. His hand rubbed my back, soothingly, trying to calm me down. He murmured something to me in Russian, and I made a vague mental note to ask him what he said. Eventually my sobs turned into gasping breaths and then into regular breathing as I fully calmed down. I kept taking deep breaths, and pulled out of Dimitri's arms.

"Roza-."

"This never happened," I told him, hopping out of the SUV and slamming the door behind me.


	9. Chapter 9

*****Thank you to Romitri99, Dustyrose2009, emadoll616, Nuuk, Vinaa Belikova, VAvixin69, Guest, TheProlificWriterGirl, Bobbi-Leigh, Jess-KiwiGirl14, and omarosa27 for reviewing the last chapter! I greatly appreciate it. I start back at school tomorrow, so I am unsure of when the next update will be. This chapter ran a little bit longer than I had originally planned it to be, so enjoy! –skd*****

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"Roza!" Dimitri called after me, but I was already halfway to the third floor by the time that he started up the stairs. Once I got to the door and remembered that Mr. Belikov had the keycard, I swore. Loudly.

Down the hall, I could see the door handle to the stairwell twisting, and knew that Mr. Belikov was almost to me, and that he was probably going to make me talk about what I had said in the car. I swore again, this time softer. As Dimitri appeared in the doorway, the door to my room swung open, and revealed Ivan. I didn't bother asking him what he was doing here, and simply pushed past him and into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

By the time I had finished with my shower, the entirety of the mirror was fogged up, including the tiny, portable makeup mirror. As I started drying off, I realized that my mistake in rushing to get away from Dimitri was the fact that I had forgotten the bags with my changes of clothes in the car. I could either put on the clothes that I had worn back from the mall, or just wrap the towel around myself and stick my head outside to ask Ivan to go down and get my bags.

"Rose?" Ivan called through the door. "I have your clothes."

It was like he read my mind. I cracked the door, and stuck my hand out for the bag. I felt the plastic handles and jerked the bag safely back into the bathroom. I dug through it, and realized that Ivan had put everything I would need in one bag, instead of just handing me all the bags. I rolled my eyes at his choice of undergarments as I slid into them and pulled the fitted grey sleepshirt over my head before sliding into the silky black shorts.

When I came out of the bathroom, both men were standing by the desk, glaring at each other. The hangers clanged together as I reached for the dirty clothes bag, drawing their attention to me. Neither said anything, but I could feel both of them looking over my body.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I snapped, turning around to glare at the men, my hands on my hips. Dimitri cleared his throat and looked away, while Ivan pulled his phone out of his pocket. Dimitri knocked it out of his hand, and glared at him once more.

"If you're going to act like animals, take it outside," I growled, walking to my bed. "I need my sleep."

"Sorry, Rose," Dimitri spoke, hesitating, almost calling me _Roza_ again. Shortly afterwards, Ivan also chimed in with a gritted "sorry", and I suspected that he was forced to apologize.

As I lay curled up on the bed, covers pulled up to my chin and facing towards the window, I could hear the men having a conversation in heated whispers that seemed to take forever. Some time later, both voices stopped, and then the door swung open and slammed shut. I flinched and heard whomever was left in the room sigh. I was tempted to peak over my shoulder and see who it was, but I was supposed to be sleeping.

"Rose, I know you are awake," Dimitri spoke softly, but I ignored him, bundling further underneath the covers. Closing my eyes wouldn't help me fall asleep, and eventually, in the wee hours of the morning, I finally fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up with the blankets down my ankles, and my shirt riding up, exposing my tanned abdomen. Ivan was in the other bed, and I quickly grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the shower, hoping to be out and gone by the time he woke up. I opted for a pair of black leggings instead of jeans and an oversized sweater that covered my ass, allowing me to wear the leggings without breaking dress code, although I wasn't really planning on going to school.

My shower was quick and I opened the bathroom door quietly, peaking around the corner to see Ivan still sleeping. Stepping into my flats, I swung open the room's door and slowly backed out of it.

"Rose, where are you going?" Dimitri was standing to the left of me, arms crossed over his chest. I jumped, and ended up slamming the door, effectively waking Ivan up.

"To school, of course," I smiled sweetly, batting my eyelashes.

He looked down at me disapprovingly. "I will drive you."

I rolled my eyes, but before I could say anything, the room door opened, and Ivan stood there in just boxers.

"Put some damn clothes on, Ivan," he told Ivan, muttering something in Russian. Ivan glared back, and said a few choice words that even I could tell were cusses. "After you, Roza."

"Rose," I reminded him, before heading down the hallway, needing to put space between me and them. Even from the other end of the hallway, I could sense the tension between the two. I started down the stairs, debating my chances of getting away from Dimitri –_Mr. Belikov_–, but before I could put any plan into action, I heard the door to the stairwell open from the third floor. I ducked out on the second floor, looking out the window that was in front of me. As usual, there were only a couple of cars in the lot. And one extremely familiar Impala.

"Fuck," I swore, turning around, and going back into the stairwell, nearly collided with Mr. Belikov.

"What are you doing, Rose?" he looked down at me disapprovingly.

"Uh, waiting for you," I fibbed.

"You're a horrible liar," he told me.

"We can't go out that way, the asshat agents are out there," I said, instead of responding to his comment. It was easier for him to think that I was a terrible liar than for him to know how good of one I really was.

"You know this how?" he asked dryly.

I pointed to the stairwell door. "Second floor window faces the parking lot."

Mr. Belikov stepped out the door, to peak out the window I assume, and stepped back in a few minutes later, sighing. "I will drive around to the other side, meet me there."

He continued down the stairs, while I went back up to them to the third floor and down the stairwell on the other side. I used the window from the second floor as my vantage point and as I saw Mr. Belikov's SUV round the side of the building, I ran the rest of the way down the stairs and walked outside just as the car came to a stop. As soon as the door was closed, he was driving off and not too long after that, the hotel was disappearing as we entered the city. The seatbelt sign was dinging, and he gave me a look.

"Rose," he warned me, and I snapped it into place. He pulled into faculty parking, not caring if anyone saw. "If I would have dropped you off away from here, you would not have come."

I rolled my eyes, not denying his statement though. "I'm not going back to that hotel. No way in hell."

"I'll figure something else out." His back was to me when he answered as I followed him into the school. "Go to all of your classes, Rose. I mean it."

"Yes, sir," I mocked a salute before ducking into my English class. Haley was already in class, and saving me a seat. Just before I sat down, Langston called me up to her desk.

"Miss Hathaway," she said softly. "I heard about the unfortunate events that occurred the other night. That being said, I will allow you to turn the homework I assigned in on Monday, rather than today."

"Thank you," I said kindly, making a mental note to ask Haley what the homework was. I took my seat and quickly scribbling down the note, before passing it to her. She held up a chart that we were supposed to fill out showing comparisons and contrasts between the first chapters of George Orwell's _Animal Farm _and _1984_. I was suddenly grateful that Lissa had purchased copies of both when she had to read them last year and made me read them with her. Although, they wouldn't do much good to me now as ashes. As Ms. Langston went around the room collecting the sheets to check off, she passed back a blank copy of the same chart for me.

While she checked everyone's papers, a simple grammar warm-up was posted on the board for us to complete. As soon as I completed the exercise, I started filling out the homework sheet.

"Rose Hathaway actually doing her homework? Who are you and what have you done with Rose?" Haley teased.

"Ha ha," I told her dryly, my smiling creeping through. Her laugh was infectious. Langston was giving both of us the stink-eye as she started passing back the papers and we both covered out mouths with our hands to stop the laughs. The class was actually enjoyable for once, probably because I had actually read the material, and the time flew by.

"So anything interesting happen last night?" Haley asked with a wink.

"Ha, no. Unless you want to count the tension between Belikov and Ivan," I answered, holding the door open as we started for our next classes.

"Ivan?"

"A guy that I slept with last weekend who just happens to be Belikov's friend. He's really concerned with my, uh, safety," I told her, rolling my eyes.

She laughed. "I'm sure."

"This is my stop," I told, jerking my thumb towards one of the hallways that branched off the main hallway.

"Do you have first or second lunch?"

"Second on A days, first on B days," I told her.

"I have first today. I'll meet you here?" I nodded and Haley hugged me before leaving for her next class.

My culinary class was next, and since the teacher was a bitch, all we did all class long was take notes, despite it being culinary 4, and all of us already having our certifications. My hand started to cramp thirty minutes and forty pages in. As I shook my hand out and tried to get rid of the cramp, I felt Mr. Mitchell glaring at me from behind the desk.

"Miss Hathaway, please come here," he snapped, just as I started writing again.

"Yes, sir?" I had to resist the urge to snap at him or roll my eyes.

"I heard about what happened, and while it's unfortunate, do not expect any different treatment from me," he spit out, not even looking at me.

"Wouldn't expect anything else, sir," I replied. He dismissed me with a slight wave of his hand and as I turned away, I heard him mutter something about "deserving it", and I was instantly chilled. Sitting back down, I tried to continue writing my notes, but I kept rereading the same sentence over and over again in between sneaking glances at Mitchell. Some time later, when he told us to put the books away, I realized that I hadn't gotten much further, maybe a page or two.

When the bell finally rang, I was one of the first out of the class. I leaned against the wall and waited for Haley, peering around people to look for her. I spotted her a few minutes later and waved.

"Hi, sorry that took so long, I had to run to the bathroom," Haley said, appearing besides me, breathless.

"It's okay," I told her. "Let's go somewhere."

We ended up going to the Subway not too far from the school, and as we ate our sandwiches, we talked about meaningless things.

"So, tell me what's going on between you and Mr. Belikov," Haley asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Nothing is going on between us," I told her. "And honestly, there's not going to be anything going on between us."

"Oh really?" Both eyebrows went up this time.

"I'm serious. Sleeping with random guys is one thing, but with my teacher? That's a complete other," I answered her.

"Mhmm," Haley pursed her lips. "You're eighteen, so you're not a minor."

"I'm not-"

"What's the date, Rose?"

"August 27," I answered her. "What-"

"Did you really forget your own birthday?" Haley teased, placing a small box on the table.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I told her.

"I wanted to."

"How did you know it was my birthday?" I asked as I reached for the box.

"Student aide, remember?" she said, laughing. "I may have peaked at your file."

I smiled, and opened the box to reveal a tiny glass tube with a cork in the top. Inside the tube was a gold necklace, with a peridot gemstone –my birthstone– being the center focus.

"Haley! I love it, thank you." I uncorked the tube and pulled the necklace out, admiring it. I put the necklace on, loving the way it rested just underneath my collarbone.

She grinned. "I thought you might." After a moment, she added, with a wink, "Maybe Mr. Belikov will be your present too."

I crumbled up a napkin and threw it at her. She dodged it and laughed, before getting up and throwing away her trash. We made it back to the school as the bell dismissing first lunch rang.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Haley told me, giving me a brief hug before racing off to her class. My class was on the complete opposite side of the school and was one of the last people in my economics class as a result of it. Putting my complete disinterest in math into factor, I was surprised that I understood most of what Mrs. Richards droned on about for ninety minutes. She was the first of my teachers today to not say anything to me about what had happened Tuesday night, which I greatly appreciated.

Or so I thought.

"Miss Hathaway, I'm sorry for what happened," she said, pulling me aside as the bell rang.

"The only person who should be sorry is the once who did it," I told him, exiting into the packed hallway. The warning bell was ringing by the time I made it across the school, and to the theatre classroom. As I walked in, Martin stared me down. I took my seat next to Lissa as the final bell rang. A few minutes later, a piece of paper slid in front of me.

_Happy birthday, Rose! I'm sorry you have be dealing with this now. How are you holding up?_

_The best I can be. _

_Where are you staying at?_

_I don't want to put you in danger, Liss._

_You're always welcome at Christian's, you know that right?_

_Danger, Liss. Whoever is after me is afraid of hurting others._

Lissa sighed, and started to write back before quickly crumpling the paper up as Martin walking around the room, checking everyone's dress code.

"Miss Hathaway." Martin pursed her lips as she looked over my outfit. "I do believe that that is not within the dress code regulations."

"Actually, the dress code regulation in relation to leggings is that as long as there is a shirt covering my backside, or a sweatshirt, then it is fine," I informed her, even though I knew that she was well aware of the fact. She pursed her lips further, but didn't say anything.

She continued walking around the classroom before going back up to the board and starting the lesson for today. A knock sounded on the door and Martin just continued talking, not even bothering to walk over to see who it was. A knock came again, louder this time, and a junior near the door stood up to get it, causing Martin to start shouting at him. Lissa and I exchanged a look and I felt like banging my head on the desk.

"Miss Hathaway!" My head jolted up. Belikov was standing in the doorway. I stood up, and walked out into the hallway with Belikov. I crossed my arms across my chest, and looked up at him.

"I have a meeting after class today that I cannot skip, therefore, you can either go with Ivan or wait for me," he told me.

"How about neither?"

"Excuse me?"

"I plan on going out tonight, so I don't need a ride anywhere," I elaborated.

He arched an eyebrow and mocked my stance. "Going out on a school night?"

"Given the week I've had, I think that I deserve it," I told her. "And it's my birthday, so all the more reason to celebrate. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to class."

Lissa shot me a look as I took my seat and I simply shook my head. I tried to pay attention to what Martin was saying, already knowing that I was on her bad side. When the bell rang, I got up and waited for Lissa before walking out. We met up with Sydney, Christian, and Adrian at our lockers.

"Happy birthday, Rosie," Christian said, wrapping an arm around Lissa. "Any plans?"

"I'm going out, and anyone who wants to join is invited," I said.

"Rose, maybe that's not the best idea," Lissa said. "Given what happened and all."

"So I'm just supposed to sit holed up in some hotel and do absolutely nothing?" I snapped.

"If it means that you're going to be safe, then yes," Lissa snapped back. "Please don't go out tonight. We can get together tomorrow night and throw you a party at Christian's, okay?"

I grumbled my okay, and slammed my locker shut. Belikov's door was still open and I ducked into his classroom. His office door was cracked, but before I could knock, I could hear him speaking.

"I said that I would handle it!"

Or shouting, rather. A few seconds later, I heard the noise of the phone being slammed back into the cradle. The lights to the office flicked off and the door swung open. His eyes widened as he saw me standing there.

"Rose, how long have you been standing here?"

"Only for a few seconds," I stammered.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going out?" He asked coolly, locking his office door.

"Plans changed."

"You need to choose then, Rose," Dimitri said, gesturing for me to step into the hallway.

"I'll wait, catch up on some homework," I shrugged. "What time is your meeting over?"

"Six thirty," he answered.

"I'll meet you at your car then," I told him.

We went in different directions, and I walked out the back door, heading towards the football field. All the members of the fall sports were running treelines, something that I really didn't miss, but it was easy to see which team was which. They all ran in little groups, sticking with one another at a steady pace. Climbing to the top of the bleachers, I was able to get a better look, and I could spot Lissa's long swinging blonde hair as she lead the cheerleaders. The warmup running didn't take long and soon the cheerleaders took their place on the track with the mats underneath them as they started running through their routines. There was a dull ache in my chest as I watched Sydney and Lissa shout out the cheers. Their practice was over before I had to go meet Dimitri, so I opened my books.

"Rose, why are you doing this to yourself?"

I flinched, and glanced over. "Go away, Brad."

"Aw, come one, Rose," he cooed. "Practice is over, and if I recall correctly, there is a celebration tonight. Let's have a little fun."

"You had your chance with me, remember? Well, at least you did until you tried to have Ashley and me at the same time."

"You know that she wasn't anything to me," he argued weakly.

"_I _wasn't anything to you," I snapped. "Now leave me alone."

"You know I loved you."

"No, you didn't," I retorted. "You were the captain of the football team, and I was the captain of the cheer squad. It was merely a convenience."

Instead of waiting for reply, I got up and clambered back down the bleachers. It was close to six thirty, and I started making my way to the faculty parking lot. I leaned against the SUV and watched the beginning of the sunset while waiting for Dimitri. He appeared around a quarter till, unlocking the car as soon as he was within range.

"Can we stop by my apartment and get my car?" I questioned as he slid into the car.

"Somebody might be watching the house, Rose," he answered, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked as he backed out of his parking space.

"Doing what?" he just barely glanced over at me as he pulled out on to the main road.

"Helping me."

"Because I need some good karma." Glancing over at him, I saw the brief half-smile, and realized that he was joking. "I couldn't just leave you there, at the apartment, Rose. You needed help, and I just happened to be able to provide that help."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Roza."

I didn't respond, instead opted to look out the window, trying to figure out where we were going.

"Did you get any homework done?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"No, I got distracted watching the cheerleaders." I admitted. I didn't mention Brad.

As Dimitri made a turn down a road about thirty minutes from the school, he started to slow down, before making right turn into a rather large apartment complex.

"Where are we?" I questioned as he pulled into a parking space.

"My apartment." He shut the car off, and reached behind him to grab his laptop before climbing out. "Ivan already dropped off all your things from the hotel, and I gave the security guys pictures of the agents, and one of their crappy car."

"That car, while driven by shitty people, is not crappy," I defended the Impala. He rolled his eyes, and led me up the stairs to his apartment. While not large, it was a decent size. First walking in the door, there was a medium-sized kitchen to the left, with the living room directly ahead. To the right was a small dining room, and then a door against the back wall that enclosed the room, which I assumed lead to the bedroom.

Dimitri set his bag on the kitchen counter. He led me through the dining room and to the door off the dining room. "This is the bedroom. It's where you will stay for now."

"I can't kick you out of your bedroom. I won't do it."

"Roza, my mother raised me to be a gentleman. It is not a problem," he assured me.

He opened the door, and I set my bags down against the wall. Leading me back out of the bedroom, he showed me where the bathroom was. I thanked him and ducked back into the bedroom to grab what I had worn to bed last night, which would double as my loungewear. As I shut the bathroom door behind, I saw him do the same with the bedroom door.

By the time I was finished changing and using the bathroom, Dimitri had already changed into a pair of sweats and a regular t-shirt, and was sitting on the couch, watching _Cops_, with pizza on a paper plate.

"Would you like a slice, Rose?" he questioned, looking up as I exited.

"No thank you. I'm not really hungry," I answered, sitting at the opposite end of the couch. We watched the TV in silence as he finished eating, and got up to get rid of his plate. The clock read that it was close to eight, and I yawned, unwillingly. Haley's words from earlier ran through my mind again. Dimitri sat back down and we watched a couple more episodes of _Cops_ before he yawned, and shut the TV off.

"Good night, Roza," he told me. "And happy birthday."

Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself who I am, and turned to him brazenly. "Don't I get a birthday present?"

His eyebrow arched. "I do not know what kind of present you would want."

I moved down the short length of the couch quickly, and threw one leg over his lap so that I was straddling him. In this position, I was slightly taller, so I tangled my finger in his hair and tilted his head upwards. "I want you," I whispered, pressing my lips against his.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers: Do'B, Kimavinzant, TheProlificWriterGirl, XxHiddenInTheShadowsxX, Guest, luciinwaters, Alena, Vinaa Belikova, and Guest! I appreciate every ounce of support that I get for this story. Enjoy the chapter, and hopefully you guys don't hate me too much at the end.**

**With that being said, I want to give a shoutout to my bestie, TheProlificWriterGirl, who beta'd this chapter for me, and puts up with me on a daily basis, and edits a lot of my writing. I love you, dear! PS if any of my lovely readers like Phantom of the Opera or CSI: New York, then definitely go check her profile out. She is an amazing, and heartbreaking writer that will leave you begging for more.**

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"I want you," I whispered as I pressed my lips against his. For half a second, I thought he was going to kiss me back. Instead, he shoved me aside, bolting up from the couch.

"Rosemarie, that will never happen again," he scolded, backing up further. "It was completely inappropriate. I am your teacher, not your classmate."

"I don't try to screw my classmates," I corrected, standing up from the couch myself.

"That is most certainly not the point of what I just said. If you are going to act inappropriate, then you cannot stay here," he snapped.

"Scared you might cave?

His brown eyes flashed. "Do not test me, Rosemarie."

I scowled. "My name is Rose."

"Children don't get to make requests when they've done something wrong," he informed me from his place in the kitchen.

"I'm not a child. I'm eighteen," I snarled.

"That obviously does not make you an adult," he barked back.

"Not an adult? You're right; being eighteen doesn't make me an adult," I said. A triumphant look crossed his face, quickly falling as I continued. "No, I like to think that I've long since been an adult. Witnessing your parents' deaths certainly makes you grow up faster, and adding being kidnapped to the list unquestionably doesn't make matters better. So no, being eighteen doesn't automatically qualify me to be an adult. I've been an adult for much longer."

"Rose-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses or your apologies. Good night," I interrupted, ignoring the brief flash of anger across his face. I shut the door tightly behind me, and curled up in the massive king sized bed. Thinking about my parents' deaths never ended well for me, and adding the kidnapping that I hardly remember obviously doesn't help.

Footsteps paused outside the door, the floorboard creaking under the weight as he stood there. I stared at the spot on the floor where the shadow fell, blocking the light. Some time later, the footsteps moved away, and the light seeping under the door disappeared completely as the living room light was shut off. I got up and tightly closed the curtains, hoping to appease the uneasy feeling that circled my stomach. The room was too different from my own to get comfortable and I tossed and turned for God knows how long before falling into a restless sleep.

When I woke, my arms were above my head, with biting metal cuffs preventing them from being pulled down. My body was stretched as far as it could, my toes just barely on the ground. The door swung open, and the girl appeared, her heels clicking against the floor. She approached me slowly, her perfume reaching me before she did.

The acrylic nails she wore ran along my wrist and forearm briefly, sliding through the blood that dripped from where the cuffs bit into my skin from too much struggling.

"You're not going anywhere, Rosie," she whispered from behind me. "I won't allow it."

"What do you want from me?" I sobbed.

I could hear the grin in her voice as she answered sadistically. "I want you to pay for all the pain you've caused."

I screamed as she kicked my legs out from under me, forcing all my weight onto my wrists and the metal cuffs bit in even deeper.

"I don't even know you," I gasped, trying desperately to regain my footing.

"Oh but you do," she hissed. "I'm so much closer than you think."

"Rose!"

I bolted upright, a scream on my lips. Dimitri was perched at the end of the bed, tense, and wide-eyed.

"Rose?" he whispered as the tears began to fall. Without hesitation, he leaned forward and pulled me into his arms, leaning back on the bed with me.

"You are okay. You are safe." He kept repeating those six words, over and over, until the shaking stopped and the tears ceased to fall. Small patches of sunlight creeped through the closed curtains, and I itched for them to be open all the way to prove that I was not longer in her basement.

"Rose?" he whispered, his arms still wrapped around me. I pulled away, and faced him slightly. "What did you dream about?"

I glared at him. "Rainbows and sunshine," I snapped.

"Rosema-." He cut himself off as my glare intensified, staying silent for a moment. "Please tell me what you really dreamed about. There's no need for sarcasm."

"There was no need for me to get kidnapped, but look what happened," I growled. "And what I dreamed about isn't any of my _teacher's_ business. After all, that's what we are, right? A regular teacher and student?"

He barked out a laugh. "You know damn well that that is not what I meant when I said that."

I crossed my arms, ignoring him.

"Rose, please," he said softly.

I rubbed my wrists subconsciously, even though I knew that the scars there were faint. When I had first gotten to the hospital, after being rescued, I remembered Lissa rubbing a cream on to my wrists, telling me that it was going to make the scars go away. It never worked fully, but Lissa remarked that they were better than it originally was though, with the pained and discomfort look she always got when she or someone mentioned the kidnapping.

"I need to get ready for school," I changed the topic, sliding off the bed. "Are my clothes here?"

"I set them in the closet by the door," he murmured. "Lissa gave Ivan a couple of things to bring over. I guess you had left some clothes and shoes in Lissa's room or she borrowed a couple of things, and so they survived the attack."

I frowned. "Lissa and I aren't the same size."

He shrugged, and I stumbled out into the living room. The curtains were all open, allowing brilliant sunlight to come streaming in, blinding me. In the closet were my other bags of clothes, and another bag that I quickly recognized as Lissa's suitcase from when she was younger. I laid it on its side, and unzipped it. There was a black lace dress on top with a pair of lace black flats. Neither item was familiar. However, under the dress was my favorite sweatshirt and a VHS Cheer t-shirt. A note in Lissa's familiar handwriting was taped to the inside lid.

_Rose, _

_The dress and flats are my birthday present to you. They should be the right size. The sweatshirt I found halfway under my bed, don't ask me why it was there. I know you're probably wondering why I included the cheer shirt, but it was another one of your things that I found intact, and figured that you might want it, regardless of bad memories or whatever. I'll see you in class, love you._

_Lissa_

I sighed, and tucked the suitcase back into the closet. Seeing as my dark wash jeans were currently crumped in Dimitri's bedroom, I opted for my light wash jeans and an oversized black sweater, and changed in the bathroom. I slipped into the black flats that were in the suitcase once I came out, and noted that Dimitri's door was still closed. I crossed into the kitchen, flipping the light above the sink on as I went. The fridge was to my left, and when I opened it, I found it close to empty. The pizza from last night was on the middle shelf, and there was a half a gallon of milk besides the orange juice. A few cartons of yogurt sat on the door, and there were apples and oranges in one of the drawers. In the drawer next to the fruit was a small array of vegetables. I snagged a yogurt and found a bag of granola in the cabinet that I sprinkled into it. As I sat down at the island, the bedroom door opened and Dimitri walked out in a white button down and dark wash jeans. He walked past me, grabbing an apple and a bottle of water out of fridge.

"How soon are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready," I mumbled around a bite of granola and yogurt.

"Attractive," he mumbled dryly, and I glared.

"Why does it matter to you?"

He didn't answer, and instead walked to the front door, holding it open for me. I walked through it, still eating my yogurt, and paused while he locked the door.

"You are dressed conservative today," he murmured as we stepped into the elevator.

"And by that you mean I'm not dressed like a slut?"

"What I mean by that is there is more of your skin covered than there is showing," he corrected.

I rolled my eyes, sarcastically adding, "This whole no clothes thing really cramps my style."

He ignored me again and I scanned the parking lot as we walked outside. There was indeed no sign of the Impala, just as he promised. The ride to the school was without conversation, the morning NPR the only thing breaking the silence. I stared out the window, trying to remember the path to get from the school back to Dimitri's apartment. We arrived at the school early, and not many students were hanging around, allowing me to linger slightly without risking being seen.

"I'm going to get my car today," I informed him as I climbed out of the car. "I need to be able to have my own transportation."

"It is not safe," he started.

"I don't care. I need my car."

He sighed. "We will go get it after school. I will be ready to go at two thirty. Please be ready by then."

I scowled. "I don't need a babysitter."

"It is not up for discussion, Rose. We will go together or not at all." He glared at me, daring me to challenge him. I sighed, and relented. I would rather have my car than challenge him. Grabbing my bag from the back, I glared back at him and walked into the school building. When I reached my locker, I immediately noticed that it wasn't closed completely, and that the lock was hanging open. I was almost positive that I had shut it completely yesterday.

Opening it slowly, I saw nothing out of order. Except for a folded piece of paper sitting on top of my English composition book. I set my bag at my feet before carefully unfolding the note. The writing looked vaguely familiar, but the message sent shivers down my spine.

_You can run, but you can't hide, Rosie. I will get you, and you will be mine_, it read.

My hands were shaking as I reread the note over and over. _She has access to the school._

"Rose? Is everything alright?"

I shrieked and jumped ten feet in the air. Haley appeared behind me, silent as silent could be.

"You scared me," I whispered.

"I'm sorry," she frowned. "That wasn't my intention."

"How long have you been here?"

"At school? A half hour? Give or take. I was working on a project," she answered, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Have you seen anybody else around here?" I gestured to the hallway.

She shook her head apologetically. "I've been in the library." She gestured down the opposite way that I came. "Why?"

"It's nothing," I murmured, crumpling the note up. "I'll see you in English."

I slammed my locker, making sure for a fact that it was indeed shut before making my way outside. There was still a tiny bit of the chill that was noticeable when I walked outside this morning, but it was nowhere near as strong. The metal bench I sat on carried even more of the chill.

_You can run but you can't hide_.

Whoever this was, she was most likely a student. An adult would have succeeded, wouldn't have let me leave. Whoever this was, she knew where my locker was and knew where to place the note to make sure that I would absolutely see it first thing. How many people were blonde and knew that I had English first period today?

"Rose!" I turned and saw Lissa jogging towards me. "Are you ignoring me?"

"Why would I be ignoring you?"

"Because I called your name four or five times? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, still tense. _Lissa is blonde_. I shook the thought off as soon as it entered my mind. I really needed more sleep; I'm obviously delirious. Lissa would never hurt me. She's practically my sister.

"You're not," she said softly, breaking me out of my thoughts. "But if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to."

I arched an eyebrow. "You're willing to just drop the subject?"

"For now," she confirmed. "Pushing you will only make you clam up more. I hate that you're hiding from me."

"I'm hiding for your safety," I reminded her. "The last thing I need is you getting hurt too."

Her eyes hardened. "I don't need you to keep me safe. I'm perfectly capable of keeping myself safe."

"I know you are," I sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't," she argued.

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," she said.

"Can we not do this? I don't really want to fight with you."

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Fine."

"I'll see you in class?"

"Of course." She walked away as the bell rang, leaving me sitting on the bench by myself.

I was one of the last people to walk into English, and took my usual seat next to Haley. She smiled at me, but didn't say anything as Langston started her lecture. A note landed on my desk halfway through class.

_Hang out after school?_

**Sure. Meet you at your house?**

_Sounds good_

A separate piece of paper landed on my desk, her address written neatly on the first line. A few minutes passed and then the original note ended back up on my desk.

_What happened last night?_

**I kissed him **

_And?_

**And he pushed me away. The end.**

_The end? There has to be more_

**There's not. **

_You seemed pissed at him this morning. _

**How would you know?**

_Library has good view of teacher lot_

**There was an argument. I don't want to talk about it. It's over**

The note didn't end back up on my desk, and when the bell rang, I darted. I really didn't want to talk about it. I zoned out during culinary, mindlessly taking notes. A few minutes before the bell rang, my phone buzzed against my hip, and I pulled it out. An unfamiliar number was on my screen with the accompanying text message: _meet me in my room during lunch. We'll go get your car, something came up after school –Dimitri_

I sighed, and let myself be carried through the crowd until I reached his room. The door was unlocked and I let myself in, before letting the door close with a barely audible _click_. The office door was cracked and I could hear him talking to someone.

"You need to get her to trust you!" A jumbled voice came through what I assumed was a phone and I froze.

"What do you think I am trying to do?" he growled.

"Try harder! It cannot be as hard as you're making it out to be."

"All she wants to do is jump my bones," he said dryly.

"Then sleep with her, Belikov," the voice ordered. "Hathaway is a pretty girl, surely it can't be that hard."

"My job is not to manipulate her."

"Do you even remember what your job is?

"Of course I do," he snapped. "Last time I checked, my job was not to sleep with her."

There was a long pause, and then the voice on the phone spoke again. "Do you not understand that your job is on the line here?"

"My job should not be on the line over not sleeping with a minor," he bit out.

"She's not a minor, and you know that."

"I am not going to sleep with her to get information!"

"That's why you were hired in the first place, Belikov," the voice snarled. "Your job is to find out what Rosemarie Hathaway knows about the kidnapping. You are to achieve your mission, no matter what you have to do."

Panic clawed at my chest, and it felt like I was gasping for air as if an elephant was sitting on my chest. Tears welled up at the corners of my eyes, and I hastily brushed them away. The conversation was still going on, but I couldn't hear anything either party was saying. My vision blurred and I turned, slumping against the wall directly outside the classroom door, I relished the feel of the cold cinder brick against my overheated skin, as it seeped through my sweater. Slowly, I breathed in deeply, holding it for a second before letting it all out. My senses slowly came back to me, and my vision focused as the ringing in my ears stopped.

"Rose?" Dimitri appeared before me, and panic started to well up in my chest again and I shoved it down. "What are you doing?"

"J-just waiting for you," I stammered.

"In the hallway?"

I shrugged, and pushed myself off the wall, allowing him to go ahead of me. My leg twitched the entire ride to my apartment, and Dimitri kept shooting me looks, though he stayed silent.

"Straight back to school," he ordered as he dropped me off.

"I need to stop for gas, and then to school," I promised before hurrying away from his car, and into my own, without looking up at the apartment. My stomach growled in hunger and I ignored s I pulled out onto the main road, going in the opposite direction of the school. I wasn't lying about the gas, and as I filled up, my phone buzzed. I took it out with trepidation, but it was only a message from Haley.

_Hey, I came down with something and went home early. Can we reschedule?_

I didn't reply and instead got back in my car, and drove. Fifteen minutes later, my GPS was telling me that my destination was on the left and I parked in the street, practically running up to the front door.

"Rose?" Haley questioned as she opened the door.

"I need your help," I gasped.


End file.
